Through Blood and Tears
by MarieWynn
Summary: Guilt by association...Vala once again finds herself being punished for the horrors Qetesh inflicted on others, including her own people. Character driven piece with violence & whumpage. Vala faces the past she has been running from since host to Qetesh.
1. A Few Words from the Author

Author's Note

I am doing something I usually don't do here on . I am posting a story that is in progress. I haven't had much luck in finding a beta, so I figure why not get feedback as I go along? Think something is too fangirl-ish? Not enough? Let me know. OOC? Definitely let me know! I'll post responses to any feedback on this page rather than in the chapters they are about since I might adjust the chapters posted here and there.

Summary:

When on a mission to aid a planet that is trying to rebuild after the Ori conquered them and fend off the Lucian Alliance's attempts to enslave them for kassa production, SG1 finds that Vala has a unique history with the people. Now Vala is confronted with a past that she has been running from for over ten years and the choice to save the innocent by sacrificing herself, or walk away.

Spoilers:

Everything SG1 and everything SGA. Some stuff we found out in SGU, but this takes place before SGU and after the season finale of Atlantis, like maybe a couple of months after. Friends old and new come back, but hopefully in ways that make sense.

Warning:

I like whumpage. Which means my fics generally deal with adult content such as violence and implications of sex (no rape). This is definitely not a happy go lucky type fic, so be warned that it might be kinda tear jerking. At least, the ending was for me when I went ahead and wrote it.

Enjoy!

**3/25/2010** Wow, it is finally done. Thank you to all of you who have left me such wonderful and encouraging reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope you enjoy the next one just as much! And a special thanks to dethmeggle for being my Shepp-o-meter. Sgt Ducky appreciates all you do! :) And to those Daniel/Vala shippers out there reading this: there will be a sequel, but for now just enjoy the epilogue as I wrote it for you Fruitcakes!

**3/24/2010** All I have to say is: You guys are going to kill me. Only five more chapters till all is concluded though and I start working on the sequel. *ducks and covers*

Oh and gotthammer: Really? Wow! Thank you. I've seen you around on the GW forums and seen that you are pretty much as critical as I am (well, almost) of fanfic, so that means a lot coming from you! This one is dark, so the next one is going to be decidedly NOT dark lol

**3/23/2010 around 3:30 AM!!** Wow...well the muse has come back with a vengeance with this story. Got a few chapters for you guys, and only a handful more to actually write before this thing is done. So yay! Sorry for the delay. I get bored and hyper critical of my stories pretty quickly, which is why I don't usually do the post as I write thing. :D But we're good now! And criticize away, cause it is 3am here so yea...might be issues. :D

Responses:

Ringgoldgate: Glad you're enjoying it and I'll definitely keep it coming!

HAZMOT: Yea, this is an idea I've been toying with for awhile. I've read a few "Vala's History" fanfics, but most of them were pretty happy compared to what she's said. So I decided to go the darker route. Teal'c I think is really the one she would turn to right now more than Daniel or anyone else. They both have less than happy histories filled with deeds they regret and the guilt that accompanies those actions. And I think he would understand what it feels like when those around you start moving on, since I think his place with the Jaffa has been kinda iffy.

CaramelMonkey: 1) Ohhhh wait till you really see Jealous!Daniel. Hint: Vala out with a very suave ladies man that we've been introduced to in the Stargate world. *rubs hands together and laughs maniacally* 3) No, she didn't zat him. I guess I need to rewrite that to clarify. She saw the men with zat guns and that's when she straightened. He was turning around to see what spooked her when he got zatted. And anything you have to say about any chapter is welcome. Keep in mind this is unbetaed so the criticism is good! And I love Dr. Hutchison too. Just found out it is actually Hutchison not Hutchinson according to Gateworld, so I need to change that in other chapters. :)

acer-sigma: Yea, he does tend to get a bit judgmental or his hero complex comes into play. I think it's pretty safe to say Vala hates sympathy and hates feeling like the victim, mainly because parts of her past have placed her in the position of a victim. I think that's why she went down the thief route--she was taking control in the most extreme scenario. Hard to be a victim when you're the bad guy. I do have to disagree with her dealing with her past though. I don't even think she's fully dealt with Adria, let alone Adria's death. Vala's very good at running from problems. We've seen her slap on a smile when her eyes scream that she's really hurting plenty of times. I think it's easier for her to try to ignore her past and these heavy issues, because they are really heavy. Vala's lucky to have her sanity after playing host to a goa'uld, and I think she knows that. Like maybe she's afraid that if she really breaks down she'll be broken, you know? And eh, she called for Dr. Hutchison so it wasn't so much an appointment as he having him drop everything he was doing to play her punching bag. Glad you thought it was Daniel she was yelling at, that was my intention. :) Glad you are enjoying it!

Oldlibrn: There's power in the eyebrow.

acer-sigma: I agree. Completely impossible for Daniel to not push it. I always loved the look on his face whenever they would start to talk about the Adria stuff and she would blow it off. You could almost see the sheer force of will he was exerting in not going after her. :)

HAZMOT: Hmmm. No, the only reason really that the whole gang is there is because I love writing with them around. Atlantis gang included, which is really why this is timed after Atlantis ended and hopefully before any Atlantis or SG1 movie picks up. They all have their roles to play, Tok'ra included, so hopefully it doesn't seem too much like fangirl wish fulfillment by having them all there. And yes, I plan on throwing a hammer in it all. If by hammer you mean severe emotional and physical whumpage of certain characters...hehee

1/7/2010

Sorry it has taken so long to update! It has been a busy busy last couple of weeks!

Oldibrn: Thanks! I thought about having Ronan step up to the plate instead of Sheppard, but I think Sheppard works better in this particular scenario.

mandy: Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it and glad it works in an episodic way for ya!

acer-sigma: My thinking exactly, which is why I used Sheppard. Just about everyone on base has probably seen Daniel and Vala interact, which means they can tell. And since Sheppard doesn't know Daniel that well, maybe he's thought something but dismissed it over the years for Daniel's lack of action. And I'm glad the Mitchell thing worked. I know if I worked with Daniel and Vala throughout the years, I'd get tired of the will they or won't they thing and end up calling them on it! If anyone would, I think it would be Cam.

HAZMOT: I know, I know! I'm killing you with the one chapter only updates! Hehe Daniel isn't being overprotective, he's just hiding behind that whole "Vala is vulnerable" line because he's jealous and doesn't want to admit it. And yea, bad things coming up for poor Vala.

Caramel Monkey: I've always thought Ronan and Vala would get along. They've both lived solitary existences on the run and had to do things they probably aren't proud of just to survive. With them, it would be more of a silent bond. I'd love to see some interaction between the two of them, particularly his reactions to any advances she would inevitably make.

I know there are more reviews I haven't responded to, but trying to move forward so onward we go!

1/9/2010

acer-sigma: Puddle jumpers. Hrmph. Why didn't I think of that first? I reworked it to fit them in because I couldn't (nor could my husband) think of a reason why they wouldn't use them. And then I had to think of how to make the puddle jumper rescue attempt fail or let's face it, this story would be over a lot sooner than I planned on. :)

Oldlibrn: Yea I'd love to see Ronon have some words with Daniel about how he needs to man up. He wouldn't be as subtle as Sheppard, that's for sure.

HAZMOT: I'll try not to keep you waiting for too long this time. ;) And take comfort in knowing that the closer we get to the end, the fast they'll come. I've been writing forwards and backwards at the same time as the scenes come to me, so most of the end is done. :D

CaramelMonkey: Yea, Sheppard really needs to get his "STOP! She's in love with someone else!" radar fixed. First Teyla and now Vala. Hehe And man, the sympathy you guys already have for the characters like Daniel and Vala really make me worry you are gonna hate me when it starts getting rougher for them! Once the Vala/Daniel emotional whumpage commences, I might have to take shelter somewhere! hehehe

**1/13/2010**

HAZMOT: Ya know, I actually had to reread it to make sure I didn't have the president say SG1 couldn't go, and then had to figure out a way to correct the fact that Landry did. You guys sure know how to keep me in check when I start to throw a wrench into my own story! Hehehe And yea, I'm not really sure Daniel has ever given much thought as to what that was like for Vala. I think the harsh reality would have sort of damaged the idea that Sha're would have been okay if she had the goa'uld removed. But when you sit back and think about it, the goa'uld did some pretty horrible stuff. And the hosts witnessed that, witnessed their own hands murdering innocent people. No one comes away from that skipping and singing. So I think part of the reason she tried to go back was guilt and part of it was just that she was out of her mind at the time. She didn't know who she was, she had no home to go back to, no family. And yea, this situation is definitely torture for her. She's not one to sit back and watch while everyone else does the dirty work.

Oldlibrn: You'll get your answers soon. :) Puddle jumpers to the rescue my foot! It's never that easy.

**1/26/2010**

I know, I know it's been forever and a day since I updated! The muse has kinda left me....mainly cause I'm going into over-critical "is this too cheesy/angsty?" mode, like I usually do when writing the really gritty emotional stuff. What can I say? I'm more of a "blow things up" kinda gal. But good news on the muse end! I think this might turn into a series. She's already given me quite a few different sequel ideas, and an idea for a new alien race. Fun fun! Have to finish this one first, so here's the next three chapters! (Maybe more if I find I can't sleep!)

**2/12/2010**

Crikees? Has it really been that long since I've updated? Eep. Sorry guys, the muse has kinda left this story and gone to the many sequel ideas I have for it. Only two chapters with the update today but hopefully the muse will allow me to finish this with a quickness!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The four remaining members of SG1 strode confidently through the gate, hardly worried about their present mission. Having defeated the Ori and taken out what they hoped to be the last Ba'al, the biggest thorn in their side was the Lucian Alliance. They were currently investigating PY1-023, a planet that had apparently been enslaved by the Lucian Alliance as part of their interplanetary kassa running scene.

"Well, guys, looks like we follow the yellow brick road," Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell gestured to the yellow clay path before them.

Vala Mal Doran cleared her throat noticeably, her arms crossed over her chest. "Just because Sam is off having fun on her ship and I am now even more outnumbered, genderly speaking, does not mean you can refer to me as a 'guy', Cam."

Teal'c tried to hide a smile. "I believe he meant no offense, Vala Mal Doran. In my experience, such terms do not refer to the genders of the group that is being referred to."

She uncrossed her arms slowly. "Oh. Well then. Proceed!"

Daniel Jackson merely rolled his eyes as they continued along the path before them. Vala had become increasingly sensitive to the idea of being the only woman on the team now that Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter had been chosen to take command of Earth's newest ship, the George Hammond. He suspected it had more to do with her missing her friend than feeling like she was outnumbered or subject to unfair treatment. He had learned over the past couple of years working with Vala that she rarely made her actual feelings known. It was the subtle signs like this that you had to search out in order to have even the slightest inclination as to what she was thinking or feeling. His brows pulled down to the rim of his wire framed glasses as he glanced at the subject of his inner musings. There was a clear frown upon her face as she looked around, more than a subtle sign that something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he softly nudged her with his shoulder.

The frown disappeared from her face almost completely, though it never left her gray eyes. She threw a glance his way, but continued to scan the area around them as if she were looking for something. "I'm fine, Daniel. Why do you keep asking me that?"

"You just looked upset, is all." He shrugged, trying to be nonchalant since she had clearly noticed his concern for her as of late. She had been much quieter than, well, than he had ever seen her since they had met, not counting the time he zatted her into unconsciousness. He had noticed the more somber side of Vala after their final confrontation with Adria, but she had seemed more her usual self lately. That is, until Sam had announced her reassignment. He knew how hard it was to lose the people you cared about most, he just wasn't exactly sure how to express that to Vala, or how to convince her that everything would be okay.

"Well, darling, that could be because you keep watching me, waiting to launch into that heart to heart that you have most assuredly been planning." Her response came with an eye roll, but her sharp eyes quickly reverted back to scanning the perimeter around them as if they were going to be attacked at any moment.

His eyes narrowed at her counter. "What makes you think I've been planning a heart to heart?"

She blew out a breath, still searching the vicinity. "Oh, all the pitiful looks you keep giving me. The not so subtle concern you've been showing. I don't know how many different ways I can tell you that I'm fine, Daniel, but I really wish you would leave well enough alone. Clearly, there's nothing I want to discuss."

He frowned, not used to her being so cranky. "My apologies," he sighed, "I didn't mean to intrude."

"Apology accepted," she mumbled, not noticing his sarcasm. She stopped in her tracks, placing her hands on her hips with a huff. Something about this place just seemed so familiar, like she had been here before long ago, but she couldn't place it. The scenery must have changed somehow, masking it from her memories.

"What's wrong, cupcake?" Colonel Mitchell asked when he noticed that she had stopped. He was ready to blow it off as some sort of reaction to whatever she and Jackson were currently arguing about, but the look on her face told him something else was going on.

"What's the term the Tau'ri use when something seems strikingly familiar, almost like you've been there or done it before, but can't place it?" She asked, still distracted by their surroundings.

"Déjà vous?" He asked.

"Yes, that's it. Well I believe I am having a case of it right now."

"You've been here before?" Daniel asked, somewhat bothered by her willingness to answer Mitchell but not him. "Should we be worried?"

"Well that would be the problem, as I've just pointed out, Daniel. I can't seem to place this..._place._ It all seems so familiar, but I can't seem to pinpoint where it is or how I've been here before."

"And under what circumstances," Mitchell added as he let out a groan. This was supposed to be just a routine mission, but if Vala had a bad history with these people, that could complicate things immensely.

"Perhaps it is only a memory from your time as host to the goa'uld Qetesh," Teal'c offered.

"Maybe we should take you back to the gate," Daniel suggested.

Vala swung around to face him, furious at the suggestion. "What?! I am not going back to the gate just to suit your hero complex, Daniel. I am perfectly capable of continuing on this mission."

"Vala," Daniel began to remonstrate in exasperation, "this isn't about you personally or what you're capable of. If these people have a history with Qetesh, it's probably not a good one. And probably not a good thing for them to see you."

"Alright you two," Mitchell interjected as Vala's mouth opened to argue. "Let's just sit here and think about this for a minute, okay? I think Jackson may have a point."

Teal'c took a step forward as Vala's eyes narrowed into a glower directed at Daniel. "Is that not a risk each time Vala Mal Doran accompanies us through the gate, just as it was a risk when I, known as First Prime to Apophis, accompanied SG1 on missions upon our first meeting?"

Both Daniel and Cam stared at Teal'c, neither able to argue his point. "Alright," Cam consented, "after you then."

Vala beamed triumphantly, shooting a grin in Teal'c's direction before marching happily ahead. Daniel made to follow her, but Teal'c's large hand stopped him.

"You must give her time, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel stared at the Jaffa in front of him in question. "Teal'c, she's obviously in pain. We can't just sit back and let her deal with it on her own. She needs to talk about it."

"What makes you think she has not?"

Daniel's mouth hung open at the implication, unable to resist feeling a bit hurt. "She's talked to you, you mean."

Teal'c merely inclined his head, the way he usually did when he had nothing more to say on a particular subject, then resumed their walk down the path.

Daniel followed, trying to hide his sulking as he thought things over. He had assumed that since Vala hadn't turned to him that she was doing what she usually did—bottling everything up. He hadn't considered the possibility that she might feel more comfortable talking to someone else, and couldn't understand why she would.

His thoughts were abruptly halted as he nearly slammed into her back as she had once again stopped in her tracks, placing his hands on her shoulders to keep from running into her. "Vala! What are you doing?"

He paused, waiting for her to snipe back that he should watch where he was going, as he clearly hadn't been, or something similar, but she stood rooted in the same spot, her focus on something ahead of them. He followed her gaze to see a statue of a woman in long flowing robes that seemed to be gesturing down the path. It looked to be almost a sort of welcome to any travelers to keep going. He took a step to the side and forward so that he was standing beside her, observing the statue. His mind had started to wander as he examined it, trying to place what era and area it might have come from.

"What's wrong?" Cam asked Vala for the second time. "You look like you're gonna puke."

"Um," Vala shook herself, "I'm just not feeling all that well. I think perhaps I should go back to the gate and sit this one out."

Daniel was skeptical, feeling like a bit of a pro when it came to spotting Vala's lies, having been picking them out ever since she first showed up at Stargate Command. "You remember this place, don't you? You know why it's so familiar."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Daniel." She turned around and started heading back the way they came. "I'm just not feeling well, like I said. I'll see you all later."

Cam tilted his head slightly as he watched Vala walk briskly down the path. He was pretty sure she was going to bust into a full run once she was out of their sight. "Something's up. Jackson, go follow her. We'll stick around and investigate."

Daniel nodded slowly, still concerned for her. If this was a planet Qetesh had ruled over, it must have been bad for Vala to turn tail and run like this. He jogged to catch up with her, calling her name as he did so.

She stopped, shoulders slumping. "Honestly, Daniel, I just don't feel well. I don't want to talk about anything, I just want to go home." She winced slightly at the word.

He noticed her wince, which confused him. "Which is why Mitchell asked me to come with you. To make sure that you get home," he emphasized the word as if to reiterate the point that the SGC was her home now, "and get better."

She lifted a brow and bit her lip coyly. "Going to play nurse, are you?"

He was going to respond, but she was already heading back to the gate. "You're moving awfully fast for someone who doesn't feel good."

"Are you going to carry me? Because the sooner I get off my feet, the better, which is why I am in a hurry."

"Do you need me to carry you?" He asked with doubt.

"Much as a girl loves to get swept off her feet, I'll have to pass."

He grabbed her arm gently, pulling her around to face him. "Vala, what is going on? You are acting really weird and don't tell me it's that you don't feel good. If Mitchell and Teal'c are in danger, we need to know."

"They'll be fine," she muttered, trying to pull away to continue their trek.

"Vala," he warned and pulled her back to him, causing her to stumble into him and catch herself with her hands on his chest. He peered down at her, his penetrating blue eyes full of compassion. "If this is a place Qetesh ruled over, then whatever happened here was not your fault. I've researched her thoroughly, so I doubt anything you tell me that she did while you were her host will surprise me or make me think any differently of you."

She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder. "Daniel...." She dragged out his name with a bit of a whine.

"Do we need to go get Mitchell and Teal'c?"

"No," she murmured.

He placed his hand on the back of her head, stroking it gently. He felt her lift her head to where her chin was propped on his shoulder, and then felt her back stiffen. "Vala?"

"Daniel," she whispered softly, "whatever happens, I'm sorry."

Daniel was about to turn around when he heard the familiar sound of a zat blast leaving the gun and then the world went dark.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Daniel woke up hours later, feeling the familiar headache a zat blast usually left him with. He closed his eyes tightly, willing them to focus as he reopened them. Thankfully, he still had his glasses on, allowing him to see that he was chained to a brick wall in some sort of cell. He looked to his side, to find Vala already awake and picking at her nails in a bored manner.

"I told you we needed to get to the gate quick, but would you listen? Noooo! Instead you felt the need to have some sort of intimate moment where I spill my heart out to you. What is it with the Tau'ri and the need to talk, talk, talk, talk, _talk_ about everything? I mean, honestly, can't a girl have her secrets?" She took an exaggerated breath after ending her little rant, not even bothering to look up at him.

Daniel was still taking in their surroundings. He noticed that just beyond the bars of their cell, there was a table with two chairs on either side, much like an interrogation room on Earth. There was a very hateful man sitting in one of the chairs, his legs kicked up onto the table as he toyed with the hunting knife in his hands. The implication of the knife was not lost on Daniel.

"Are you even listening to me?" Vala demanded.

"Yes, I heard you just fine. And in case you haven't noticed, your little secrets tend to get us into worlds of trouble!" He hissed out through clenched teeth. He looked up at the sound of the chair scooting away from the table.

The man, with his long brown hair pulled back into a slick ponytail, was slowly making his way over to the bars. "You speak to your god in a very unusual manner." His chiseled jaw clenched as he turned his attention to Vala with a sneer. "Perhaps you are not as intimidating as you once were now that the goa'uld have been weakened."

Daniel lifted his chained hand. "Um, hi, yes, we would be the ones that weakened the goa'uld."

The man laughed. "It is no wonder that you would try to take credit for the undoing of your enemies."

"I take credit where credit is due, Amotis." Vala lifted herself to full height as he unlocked the cell door and made his way towards her. "As you well know, I take what it is mine. What offering do you bring your god on this day?"

"Vala!" Daniel chided. "Not helping!" He wasn't expecting the fist that connected with his jaw and gave a bewildered look to Amotis, who was glaring down at him, his chest heaving in anger.

"You dare speak that name!" He spat out. "You have some nerve, slave."

"Wha-slave?" Daniel stuttered. He turned in question to Vala, who merely shrugged. "A little help here, Vala?" He was thrown back a bit by the next blow to his face and spat blood out. "Owe! That's her name!"

Amotis shook his head, looking at Vala with disgust. "That was once her name. Before the demon took her. I refuse to let you tarnish it by referring to that thing as..." He paused, clearly unable to speak the name himself.

"Vala," Vala finished with disinterest, staring back down at her nails again. She brought up her wrist to block the punch he was getting ready to throw at her. "Is that any way to treat your god?"

He rushed her, their faces one inch apart as he set his jaw. "You are not my god. Speak that name again and I will kill you."

Daniel pulled himself up off the ground, losing patience. "Can we all just calm down here? Va--" he stopped himself at Amotis's warning glare and settled for pointing his finger at Vala instead. "You, don't speak anymore."

"You dare command your god?" Amotis seemed stunned by this behavior. He looked Daniel up and down. "Clearly, your talents must exceed expectations for her to treat you so graciously."

Daniel felt his face flush at the implication, but tried to steady himself. "Look, clearly your land has a bad history with Qetesh--"

"She took what was ours!" He bellowed.

Daniel glanced up to the ceiling. "Yes, and we are very sorry for that. Maybe if you tell us what it is that she took, we can try to help you out."

Amotis turned his face back to Vala, pain and disgust written all over it. "You're looking at it."

Daniel turned to Vala, stunned at the realization. This was her home planet. This was where Qetesh had taken her. "You mean," he clarified slowly, still searching his teammate for some sort of response, "Qetesh took Vala from you?"

"Yes," he responded as he turned away from the woman in question. "It was sixteen cycles of the seasons ago. She," he shot a glare back at Vala, "came here with a much more powerful following. Our village was easily overtaken. The women were made to line up in the streets. Her Jaffa then chose the most beautiful out of the younger women for that thing to choose from. She chose Vala, who was one of our most beloved."

Vala scoffed at this as she shot him a disdainful look. "Most beloved, right."

He closed the distance between them in two strides. "You slaughtered all those who fought to protect her. You _murdered _ her own mother right in front of her eyes! You knew she was much loved, as well as her mother, and you took pleasure in taking her from us!"

Vala turned her head away from him, and Daniel could see the tears forming in her eyes. His heart broke for everything she had been through. She had spoken of her mother on very few occasions, and he had assumed that she had passed away, but he had never imagined that she had been killed right before her eyes for trying to protect her. It was no wonder Vala had always run from her past.

"Look," he started slowly in his best calming voice, "I understand that Qetesh has caused you great pains, but the woman you are looking at is no longer Qetesh. That _is_ Vala."

Amotis spat out a laugh. "You expect me to believe you, servant? My men witnessed your affections for her. Clearly you will say anything to try to save her from her fate."

"From her fate?" Daniel didn't like the sound of that, but shook his head. "I'm not a human servant, and she is not a goa'uld. We're members of SG1, of the Tau'ri. Earth?"

This slowed Amotis's temper. "Why should I believe that?"

Daniel lifted his shoulder to show the SG1 patch on his arm. "See this? Can you read it?"

He came closer cautiously and inspected the patch. "This symbol..." His wide eyes were filled with shock. "I recognize it. Your people have been here before, when the Priors came."

"Yes," the archaeologist nodded enthusiastically. "That's why we came back. The Ori have been defeated, and we're trying to help those planets that were weakened at their hands. We heard the Lucian Alliance was trying to take advantage of planets like yours and we came to help."

He took a step back, his focus now on Vala. "What you say is true? She is no longer goa'uld? How is that possible?"

"There is technology out there that will remove the goa'uld symbiote from the host, freeing them from the goa'uld that has enslaved them," he explained. "Vala was rescued by the Tok'ra and they were able to remove Qetesh from her. She's just as much a victim in this as your people."

"Blessed spirits, I cannot believe it...." His eyes filled with tears as he slowly approached Vala, using his key to remove the shackles from her wrist. She rubbed them lightly, refusing to look up at him. He tried to lift her chin with his finger but she jerked away and walked other side of the cell. He lowered his hand, his expression changing to that of sorrow and remorse, then turned to follow her.

"Are you going to let us leave now?" She asked, nodding her head back to Daniel.

"Leave? But you are home now, Vala." He held his hand out to her in offering, his eyes pleading. "Surely, you will stay with us. We will have a feast in your honor!"

"Think I'll pass," she sniped as she brushed past his offered hand and made her way back to where she had been chained. "You can lock me up again if you'd like, but I'd much rather you just let us leave quietly. Our people will send another team through to help you if you need it."

"Your people?" Amotis looked crushed by her words. "We are your people, Vala. Even after all you have been through, you must see that." He stood in front of her now. "You have been blessed with your freedom and returned to us. You must remember what you had here. What we had?"

Her features softened a bit as she looked into his eyes. She allowed for him to place a hand on her cheek and leaned into it slightly. "I remember, Amotis. Not a day goes by that I don't remember."

He grinned at the encouragement and made to lean in to kiss her. Before he could make contact, she had pulled the knife from his belt loop and swung him around, his back hitting the wall as the knife went to his throat. "What--"

"I remember," she repeated, her eyes hard and cold. "I remember finally being freed of that monster and being brought back here. I didn't receive such a warm welcome then."

"Vala!" Daniel made to get to them, but the chains still around his wrist kept him just far enough away.

"I remember," she continued in a low whisper, "your hand being the one to cast the first stone. Do you remember that?" She shoved him back against the wall harder. "Do you remember how I begged and pleaded for you of all people to help me? To see that it was me?"

Horrified tears were spilling down Amotis's cheeks. "We had no way of knowing...I'm so sorry..."

"I barely escaped with my life. Now tell me where my other friends are." She pushed the knife even closer to his throat, causing a light trickle of blood to fall down his neck.

Daniel shook himself from his stunned silence. She had told him the truth. When she had first come to the SGC and tried to seduce him, she had told him the truth about her past. And he had turned her away, thinking it was just another ploy to try to get him in bed.

"Vala," he soothed, "let him go. He knows the truth now. It's okay."

"He can't be trusted, Daniel." She shot him a sideways glance. "Or did you miss the part where he tried to kill me the last time we met?"

"He thought you were Qetesh."

"That doesn't matter. You're still in chains, are you not?"

"Here!" Amotis thrust his hand out to Daniel, stretching it so that he could reach the key in his palm. "Free yourself. Your friends are in another room not far."

Daniel quickly undid the chains and eased his way over to them, standing behind Vala's back. He put two cautious hands on her shoulders, rubbing them slightly in comfort. She seemed to be teetering on the edge right now, and he didn't want to push her over. "I'm free now, Vala. You can put the knife down. Can you do that for me?"

Vala let out a deep breath, lowering the knife slowly and releasing her arm from Amotis's chest. As she did so, he crumpled to the ground in defeat. She stared down at him, her heart trying to beat itself out of her chest. "My team and I will leave this village now, untouched and unharmed by any of your people."

"Yes," he sobbed.

Daniel tightened his grip on her shoulders as she made to turn away. "Vala, you can't just leave him like this."

She turned around, her emotionless eyes meeting his. "Yes, I can. Now let's go."

He stepped in front of her. "He clearly feels horrible. And we need him. Otherwise the other villagers are just going to zat us all over again. Or worse."

She blew out an annoyed breath as she thought this over, then turned back to Amotis. "Get up." She nudged him with her boot. "Get up, you big slobbering idiot. Go tell your people that we're free to go."

He sniffled, wiping at his nose as he stood up and walked past them.

Daniel shook his head. "Vala, I know that what you went through here was horrible, but they suffered a loss too. You can't punish them for their mistakes. From the sounds of it, they were trying to avenge you."

"You weren't there, Daniel." Her eyes shifted to the ground as her mind reflected the memories of her homecoming. "They didn't care that it was really me. They just wanted their revenge." She shrugged. "He'll get over it. Seems he did just fine after last time."

"How did you manage to escape?"

She swallowed hard. "A friend of my mother's. She believed me when I told them who I really was. She snuck out one night and unchained me, helped me to the gate." Her eyes lifted to his. "They killed her for it right before I stepped through the Stargate."

Before he could respond, she was brushing past him and out of the cell. He sighed, hoping that after she calmed down he would be able to reason with her more. When he got out into the street, there was a crowd gathered around Vala and Amotis, who was shielding her with his body as he shouted at the crowd to quiet. Daniel was having no luck trying to push his way through the angry mob surrounding them, making note of the baskets full of stones most were carrying. He heard his name shouted and looked over his shoulder to see that Teal'c and Mitchell were doing the same.

"What's going on?" Mitchell yelled.

"Long story," Daniel shouted back before resuming his push through the crowds.

"Please, you must listen. These people are from the Tau'ri. They are the ones that defeated the System Lords and put an end to the rule of the goa'uld," Amotis addressed the crowd.

"Then why is our enemy upon us? Traveling with them?" Someone shouted back. "Why have they brought this filth back to our lands?"

"Filth?!" Vala cried out. "How dare you! I never liked you anyway, you horrible old bag!"

"Please!" Amotis called out once more. "The Tau'ri have come back with great tidings. The Ori have been defeated." He paused as cheers let out. "And they have returned to us one of our own. The woman you see before you is no longer a captive of the goa'uld, but is our beloved Vala, come home to us once more."

There was a shocked silence and Daniel paused to look around at their reactions. There was a lot of muttering of how it could be, while most shook their heads with doubt, and a few others had tears of joy in their eyes.

"There is a way to remove the goa'uld from the body it inhabits, allowing its host to live once more. Our prayers have been answered." He stepped away to reveal a very tense but unimpressed Vala. She was peering out the corner of her eyes at the people.

Daniel was able to shove his way almost to the front of the crowd, but people were starting to ease forward, reaching out for Vala. His eyes shot to her to measure her reaction, and he could tell that this was a bad plan. She was glaring around at them like a tiger in a cage, ready to pounce on the first person that came too close. "Vala!" He called out, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Get away from me!" She yelled as someone touched her shoulder. "Don't touch me! Any of you!" She picked up a rock and launched it at the closest person. "How does it _feel_?? How do you like it??"

Daniel threw a look back over his shoulder to Cam, who shared the same look of 'Oh shit' before they both started shoving their way forward urgently. Teal'c was able to get to her first, throwing her over his shoulder with ease as he pressed his way back through the crowd and to the clay path that they all assumed led back to the gate. Vala was still screaming things at the crowd, using every obscenity she had learned from the Tau'ri in some of the most creative ways Daniel and Cam had ever heard. The crowd was screaming protests at SG1 as they raced down the path, ordering them to bring her back even though she was still flinging the rocks at them from the basket she had managed to grab from one of the townspeople.

Daniel quickly raced to the DHD and dialed home while Cam pulled out his IDC transmitter and quickly entered the code once the gate was dialed. The two quickly ran through the gate, followed by Teal'c, who had a still screaming Vala over his shoulder. She didn't seem to notice when they had come through the gate as she threw the last of her rocks back at the crowd. It hit the wall behind the gate with an echoing thud, which gave her pause.

"What on Earth is going on here?" General Landry demanded from the end of the ramp.

"Well, sir, it would seem Vala has something of a colorful past with these people," Cam explained before cutting his eyes to Daniel. "I think Jackson here can explain better."

"Briefing room, now!" Landry ordered, his chest heaving as he focused his gaze on Vala, who was still thrown over Teal'c's shoulder. He shook his head angrily before storming off in the direction of the briefing room. He expected better of his personnel than this. Vala had teetered on the line of good behavior quite a few times, but this time she had crossed it.

"Umm, Muscles, I think I can walk just fine. Would you mind putting me down?" Vala asked as she tried to wiggle herself around to be able to look at him.

"I do not believe that is a good idea, Vala Mal Doran. Clearly you are not of sound mind."

"I am not wonko!" She argued as she squirmed even further. "Daniel! Tell him to put me down!"

Daniel pressed his lips together and raised his brows with a shrug. "She's fine, Teal'c."

Teal'c closed the distance between them and gently placed Vala down next to Daniel. "Very well, Daniel Jackson. I leave her to your care."

"I don't need anyone's care!" Vala shouted after the Jaffa as he walked away. "He really thinks I'm crazy."

"Can you blame them after that little show?" Daniel turned to her, lowering his head. "Look, they'll understand once they get the full story." The look she gave him at this didn't strike any confidence in the idea of Vala willingly giving them the full story. He gestured for her to go ahead of him, noticing that her hands were visibly trembling before she crossed her arms over her chest, tucking them underneath her arms.

Vala took a seat at the far end of the briefing table. She folded her hands onto her lap underneath the table as she returned General Landry's expectant stare.

"Do you mind telling me what the hell that was all about?" His eyes never left hers, letting the others know that he expected her to explain herself.

Daniel made to respond, but Vala's voice, steady and factual, stopped him.

"That planet was one that Qetesh conquered during my time as host to her. The people and I had some disagreements and I lost my temper, bottom line." Her explanation was brief and about as vague as she felt she could get away with. Her history with these people was no one else's business but her own and she refused to open the door for any more sympathy from the Tau'ri. She already had people pouring it all over her because of Adria.

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" Landry leaned back in his chair and looked around at the other members of SG1. "Anyone else have anything to add before I decide what to do with Miss Mal Doran?"

Vala straightened. "What to do with me? What is that supposed to mean?"

Landry leaned forward once more. "You were flinging rocks and screaming at the people you were meant to be helping. That is hardly the behavior I expect from any member of my team, which means your place here merits further scrutiny. If all you have to say for yourself is that you lost your temper, that is. Would you like to add anything?"

Daniel groaned inwardly. He could tell Landry was playing hardball. They all knew Vala well enough to know that getting her to admit anything personally was like pulling teeth. Scratch that--like pulling teeth without any instruments or fingers. "There's more to it than just losing her temper, sir."

"No, there's not." Vala shot him a glare before turning back to Landry. "I lost my temper and that is all I care to say. Off to Area 51 with me then." She shrugged as she said the words, as if this was no big deal to her.

"I was more thinking along the lines of another psych evaluation." Landry shook his head. "Now either Dr. Jackson can fill us all in on what happened while you report to the infirmary, where you will stay until you are cleared from your psych exam, or you can tell us what happened. Doesn't exactly seem like a hard choice."

"Come on, Vala," Mitchell urged. "We're your teammates."

Vala nodded slowly as she stared down at her still shaking hands. "Right," she whispered hoarsely as she swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Dr. Hutchinson it is." With that she stood and started heading to the infirmary.

Daniel grabbed her just outside of the briefing room. "Vala, this is ridiculous. General Landry's just trying to get you to tell us what happened. You can offer more insight into the situation than I can. Those people still need our help, regardless of your history with them."

"Fine, then another SG team can be sent to help them. Or you can go back without me, I really don't care. Beyond the fact that Qetesh left a bad taste in their mouths, I don't really see what my personal business has to do with any of this. But by all means, Daniel, go march back in there and spill it all to them! Do your best to paint me out to be the victim, because that's exactly what I need right now is more pity from your people." She swung around and stalked off, not giving him the chance to respond.

Daniel had to do his best to resist the urge to scream. She'd rather be confined to the infirmary indefinitely or even sent to Area 51 than deal with this. It was absurd. He took a breath to calm himself before returning to the briefing room. "Confining Vala is not necessary. Neither is the psych evaluation."

"I beg to differ, Dr, Jackson, " the general argued. "Clearly Miss Mal Doran is not coping well with her responsibilities as a member of this facility."

"General Landry's right, Jackson. I hate to admit it," Cam leaned back in his chair, "but we've all noticed that Vala has been more than off her game lately. I mean, a person can only take so much and she's been through a lot. We've all been there."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"Her behavior today just shows even more that she's got some stuff to deal with. So I say we give her the time to deal with it." Cam started fiddling with the pencil in front of him. "Some time away from the team might be good for her."

Daniel leaned his hands on the end of the briefing table and dropped his head. "PY1-023 is Vala's home planet. It's the planet Qetesh took her from." He looked up at his teammates and General Landry, continuing without waiting for their reactions. "The man who freed us,Amotis, was Vala's fiancé at the time. After the Tok'ra freed her from Qetesh and she was returned home, he was the one who ordered her execution. They tried to stone her to death but luckily someone believed her and sacrificed their self to help her escape." He looked around the briefing table in the stunned silence that followed his recount of Vala's story. "That's all I was able to gather."

Cameron blew out a heavy breath. "So let me get this straight: that was Vala's home," he repeated slowly. "Where she was taken by Qetesh. And where she was returned after she was freed. And their version of a welcome home party was publicly stoning her to death?"

"They thought she was Qetesh. They didn't understand that anything of the host remained." He shot a look to Teal'c. "Even you thought the same thing at one time."

"They seemed pretty convinced this time that it was really Vala. I mean, after they freed us that is." Cam inclined his head slightly. "Why the sudden change of heart? Or mind, rather?"

Daniel lifted his shoulders with a slight shake of the head. "I told them we were Tau'ri. Apparently that holds some weight now."

"After defeating the goa'uld and the Ori, I should hope so," Landry interjected as he stood.

"So as you can see," Daniel turned his focus to the general, "all of this is really unnecessary. Vala's fine, she's just been confronted with a piece of her past that she's been running from for over ten years now."

"I'll send another team, but my orders concerning Vala still stand. Her behavior, regardless of the reason, has left me little choice." He held up his hand before Dr. Jackson could argue. "I think the rest of SG1 could use some R&R time as well. Perhaps you could use it making sure your teammate is okay. With the President and the Tok'ra arriving next week to renegotiate our alliance with them, I think this personal drama is the last thing we need."

"Yes sir," Cam responded as Teal'c nodded. He watched their commander disappear before turning to the other two members of SG1. "He's right. We should've seen this coming."

"What? He didn't say that," Daniel corrected. "And how could we have seen this coming? We ended up on her home planet. It's not like she's suffered some kind of mental break or something."

"No, but she hasn't exactly been herself lately. Maybe some down time will do her some good." Mitchell clapped his hands together. "So who wants first watch?"

"I'll take it," Daniel answered without hesitation. He knew Vala didn't want to deal with any of this, as made completely apparent by her willingness to be confined rather than talk about it. But he also knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't last long locked in the infirmary. He waited for argument from his teammates, and after receiving none, he headed to the infirmary, crossing his fingers that she had reported there.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Vala was propped up on the infirmary bed flipping through the latest issue of Cosmo when Daniel arrived at the infirmary. She was already dressed in the blue scrubs that were common place for a stay there.

"You look shocked, Daniel," she said without looking up from her perusing of the magazine.

"Well I half expected you to run," he admitted as he pulled himself up onto the bed beside her and looked around. "You know, you and I spend entirely too much time in this room."

"If the surroundings aren't to your liking, you don't exactly have to stay."

"Actually, I do." He clasped his hands in front of him. "General Landry sort of inadvertently ordered SG1 to keep an eye on you. Keep you company."

She scoffed at this, flipping the pages roughly. "So he really does think I've lost my rocker."

"Fell off your rocker," Daniel corrected. "And he's concerned. As are we all. Coming face to face with your people after what they've put you through is a lot to take."

She dropped the magazine and turned to face him. "Please, Daniel, I've been through far worse than that. Or did you forget about my most recent stint in jail where you posed as the worst legal representation ever?"

"You stole from them! There was hardly much I could do! And I got you out of that, didn't I?"

"By the skin of my teeth," she muttered as she picked the magazine back up. "Didn't bring any reading materials to your little babysitting job?"

"No, I'm here to keep you company," he explained, somewhat offended.

"Since when do you choose my company over your musty old books?" she retorted.

"I spend plenty of--" Daniel stopped himself short, realizing she was just trying to goad him into an argument and push his buttons because she was upset. "Look, I owe you an apology."

"For what?" She looked up, confused and unable to resist the curiosity. Daniel apologizing was rare, him figuring out how he had upset her even rarer.

"You told me about all of this before. When you first came to the SGC. And I didn't believe you." He hesitated. "I thought you were lying so that I would sleep with you, and you were really turning to me. I shut you down, and I'm sorry for that."

A coy look came across her features. "Are you sorry that you turned me away after I poured my heart out to you, or are you sorry that you missed the opportunity to have sex with me? Because we can rectify the latter, you know. I was just reading about this really interesting position that oddly enough I've never thought to try..." She started flipping back through the magazine but his hand stopped her. She could tell by the stern way his brows pulled together that he wasn't going to let this go. "Fine, apology accepted. You know, I find it terribly funny that people always assume I'm lying when more often than not I'm telling the truth."

"Because it's not like you've ever lied to me, right?" His eyes narrowed further at her, though she wasn't sure how that was possible. "Look, Vala, I'm still here. You can talk to me."

"Yes, you keep saying that regardless of the fact that I do talk to you. Am talking to you now actually."

"That's not what I mean and you know it. You're obviously upset." He leaned forward to the edge of the bed. "Talk to me."

She let out a breath. "What's there to say, Daniel? You know the full story as I'm sure the rest of the SGC does as well after your little briefing. All the horrific details of my past are now laid out for all the world to see."

"I didn't tell them everything." He waited for her shocked look before he continued. "I told them what was necessary. That we were on your home planet, the place where Qetesh took you, that they tried to kill you when you returned, by order of Amotis I'm guessing, And that they now know that you are free of Qetesh."

"Remarkable just how quickly you were able to convince Amotis of that," Vala muttered sarcastically.

"What do you mean?"

She closed the magazine and placed it on her lap. "They knew already, Daniel. They just didn't care until they found out I was under the protection of the Tau'ri." She shook her head as he made to argue. "You don't know these people like I do, Daniel."

He pulled his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. "Don't you think it's possible that your opinion of these people is a bit jaded based on your experience with them? They were scared, and they acted out of that fear. Can you blame them for acting so rashly after the hell Qetesh had already put them through? The people she had killed and enslaved?"

Vala sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She pressed her palms into the sheets as she thought about Daniel's words. "If you had been in Amotis's shoes, what would you have done? Would you have had me killed, just in case?"

He stared at her for a moment, knowing she had him with what his obvious response would be. Even the handful of times he had encountered Sha're, the thought of killing her never entered his mind, regardless of the damage he knew she could do. It had nearly cost him his life, but he would have rather died than bring any harm to her, even if it meant saving himself.

"You can't judge your people based on what I would have done, or anyone else," he finally responded.

"Yes, I can, and I do. They blamed me, Daniel," she went on softly. "They were tortured and enslaved for years, all under my hand."

"Qetesh's hand," he quickly corrected.

She shook her head. "One in the same to them. They thought that if she hadn't taken me as host, maybe she would have let them be. They cursed my name after awhile."

"You can't know that," he reached out, taking her hand into his. "This is all guilt, Vala. Guilt for something that you couldn't have possibly prevented."

Her eyes were welling with tears as she turned her head away from him. "She let me see it, Daniel. Qetesh didn't shove me into a quiet place in my own mind. That's not how being a host works. She enjoyed torturing me as well. When they started blaming me, well, she made sure to let me know that." She stopped, trying to shake off the emotions she was feeling. "I think I would like to get some rest now. It's been a very long day."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Of course." He removed his hand from hers and watched quietly as she laid back down. He stood up, taking the few steps forward until he was right by her bedside. Her gray eyes looked into his, and he could see just how vulnerable she was. How broken. He knew better than to push her even more, and settled instead for pulling the light blanket up around her and tucking her in. "You're home now, Vala. That's what matters."

"Home and in captivity," she retorted with a huff.

"Your choice," he reminded her. He lightly brushed her bangs from her forehead. "But we'll get through this, I promise."

She stared at him in silence for a moment as he took his place back on the bed a few feet away from her. She appreciated the care he sometimes took with her, though it still always took her by surprise. She had thought at first that he was more concerned with the people of her home planet than with her, but she could see now that this wasn't the case.

"Daniel," she hesitated as he looked up. "Thank you. For not being angry with me."

He gave her his signature genuine smile, the one that reached his blue eyes, and nodded, uncertain of what to say and thankful she wasn't using one of her usual tactics to push him away after revealing this small glimpse into the horrors she had endured in her past.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Vala stirred slightly, willing her eyes to stay closed lest they open and reveal the past twenty four hours to be something other than a dream. She could hear the pages of a magazine flipping from the bed next to her, which let her know Daniel had been relieved of his babysitting duties. Which also told her that the past twenty four hours had been reality.

"Hello, Cameron," she greeted without opening her eyes.

"What? How did you know it was me?" He had hardly been paying attention to the pages in front of them, watching her for any sign of waking up.

She stretched lazily, then flipped over onto her side to get a better view of him. "You're the only one who flips through the pages so fast. Daniel and Sam actually read the articles and Teal'c...well Teal'c would just be sitting there, really."

He chuckled softly. "Yea, he does that pretty well. How ya doin?"

"I'm fine," she lied. "And how are you darling?"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

He pressed his lips together, slowly placing the magazine to his side. "No, not really. I'm concerned."

"Oooh, did something happen while I was locked in here?" Vala sat up eagerly. "Do tell! What did I miss? Daniel finally announce his undying love for me?"

He shook his head, smiling even though he knew she was trying to distract him from what was going on with her. "Jackson filled us in, Vala."

"Oh," she replied flatly. "Come to tell me how very sorry you are for all I've been through?"

Cam pushed himself off of the bed, his boots hitting the floor with a resounding thud that almost echoed his anger. "What the hell were you thinking? Don't you think that woulda been valuable intel to share?"

Vala straightened, not expecting this reaction. "There didn't exactly seem to be an opportune moment for sharing! I know how those people are and my first thought was more along the lines of self preservation than sharing!"

He rubbed his temples, taking in a few deep breaths. "I meant when you first joined the SGC, Vala. Between you and Jackson, we had a pretty comprehensive list of all the planets Qetesh had a really bad history with, the ones that would really be gunning for revenge. This one wasn't on it."

She ran her tongue against the side of her teeth as she stared at Mitchell in thought. "Would you believe me if I told you it slipped my mind at the time?" She didn't wait for his response before continuing. "Alright, truth is, I didn't exactly take the threat any worlds Qetesh might have bullied seriously. So they recognize me, so what? We set them straight, inform them of the bigger threat that was the Ori, and move on along our merry little way in trying to defeat said bigger threat."

"So if they aren't that big of a threat, why were you in such a hurry to get out of there?" he countered.

She knew that he had her there. "Because I wasn't very confident we'd be able to convince them of my innocence before they put me on trial."

He gave a slight shrug. "So they put you on trial, so what? Jackson gets up there and defends you like he's done before, we show them you're innocent and tell them all you've done and then Bob's your uncle and we're home eating steaks celebrating your victory."

She frowned slightly at his referring to her uncle as Bob, but decided it wasn't important. "Not all justice systems are the same, Cam. I think you'd find theirs to be a bit more harsh than what you and Daniel are used to."

"Come on, how bad could it be?" he pushed, then held up his hands in defense. "And I know you aren't too happy with the idea of Jackson defending you again what with how it went last time, but you two always manage somehow."

"I think Daniel would find it hard to defend a dead body," she muttered.

Cam leaned forward slightly, hoping he had misheard her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"My dear Colonel," she began slowly with a sweet and somewhat patronizing smile, "I think you would find that there would be very little of me left to celebrate with after my people are satisfied enough to declare my innocence."

His eyes shifted downwards. "I see. So they're trial isn't so much a trial as an execution."

"If I live, that means I am goa'uld and able to heal myself. If I die, well, then obviously I wasn't a goa'uld," she explained.

"Trial bad, gotcha." He rested his chin upon his hand as he thought this over. "But wait a minute, even a goa'uld has its limits. You hurt the host too much and the goa'uld can't save them. That's what the Tok'ra have said, according to some of SG1's old mission reports anyway. The only reason the goa'uld could come back from death is because of the sarcophagus deal."

Vala shook her head. "They aren't just goa'uld to these people, Mitchell. They're gods. They have godlike powers. And gods can't die. They don't understand that it was just about the technology the goa'uld wielded."

"So I guess showing them pictures of your insides without snakes wrapped around your spine won't mean much to them, huh?"

"No, just more magic that they don't understand. And they've been deceived by magic and power before. Tricked into worshipping false gods." She shrugged. "No matter. There's no need for me to go back and we can officially add it to the list of planets where it's not such a good idea for me to go to. Then all I have to do is pass this psych exam again and we'll be back to saving the galaxy."

"And you'll be back to pretending like none of that ever happened." He leaned forward slightly. "Look, I'm just saying that maybe it's time you dealt with all this. Grandma always said you can only run from your past so long before it comes back to bite you on the ass."

"Yes, well I'm sure your grandmother had no idea just how fast of a runner I am," Vala quipped with a forced smile.

Mitchell held up his hands in defense once more. "I get it, I get it. None of my business."

"Glad to see someone is on the same page as me," Vala responded with a perky smile as she stretched. "So how long is your shift? Muscles coming to relieve you soon?"

Cam lifted his brows and answered slowly. "No....more like Dr. Hutchinson will be relieving me, and then Teal'c will come for a visit. And hey, if you drag your heals on this psych exam like you started to on the last one, you might be confined long enough for O'Neill to take a shift. He'll be here for the summit next week. The Tok'ra insisted on it."

"Isn't he retired? Are the Tok'ra not aware of what retirement actually means?"

He laughed slightly. "Yea, but I think an old friend of O'Neill's is gonna be coming with the Tok'ra."

"What sort of old friend?" Vala asked suspiciously.

"The kind Sam would not be too happy hearing about," Mitchell responded with thick implication.

"Oh," she sucked in a breath between her teeth. "I see. Well, no worries. I'll be released before O'Neill can bore me with his Tok'ra romance stories. Give me one hour with Dr. Hutchinson and I bet he'll be begging to sign for my release."

Cam gave a brief glance to the ceiling as if for guidance. "I was afraid you'd say something like that."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Dr. Hutchinson stood in the doorway silently watching as Vala fussed with her hair. She kept putting it over her shoulder, then brushing it behind her back as if she couldn't decide which look to go with. He smiled to himself, glad that he was mentally prepared for the challenge that Vala Mal Doran served to be as a patient. He cleared his throat to make his presence known, which startled her, and then made to take the seat at the table across from her.

"Oh, hello," she greeted as she stuck her hand out for him to shake. "It's good to see you again, Dr. Hutchinson."

He made no effort to hide the look of doubt upon his face.

"No, really!" she pressed. "I always enjoyed our little chats."

"I was under a very different impression. In fact the last time we spoke, I believe you were less than happy to see me," he reminded her, speaking of their last conversation in front of the elevator a few years ago.

"Well that was before I realized you were going to pass me. My psych exam I mean. I believe it is you I have to thank for being a member of SG1." She gave her best appreciative smile, hoping to show him just how well she had been coping with her integration into the Tau'ri society and workforce.

He returned the smile with a somewhat bashful one. She certainly knew how to lay on the charm. "I think you have yourself to thank more than anyone else." He flipped open the file in front of him. "I can see that a lot has happened since our last visit. Why don't you tell me about it."

She blew out an exaggerated breath. "Where to start?"

"How about with Adria?"

Vala swallowed hard, trying to maintain the happy facade. "Adria? Well, let's see. We had a few run ins with her--"

"And what was that like?"

She thought for a moment. "A bit on the scary side. She had this whole glowing fiery eye thing going on, it was very disconcerting."

He let out a soft laugh. "That's not what I meant. She was your daughter, was she not?"

She smiled widely again, though this time it didn't spread across her features. "I'd hardly call her that. She was the Ori in the flesh. I was merely the vessel that, regrettably, brought her here."

"So you regret carrying out the pregnancy?"

"I--I..." she stammered, then bowed her head. "I think that's ancient history. I could spend the rest of my life regretting previous actions, but that does nothing for the present. Which I believe is why we are here."

"The past is never really all that far away I've found," Dr. Hutchinson disagreed. "But we are here to deal with the present situation so why don't you tell me a little bit about that."

She leaned forward, folding both hands in front of her on the table. "It's simple, really. Those were my people. Last time I saw them, I received a less than warm welcome in the way of they tried to kill me. So when I saw them yesterday and was confronted with all they had done, I snapped. I didn't break," she clarified quickly. "I just...snapped. I see the error of my ways and I see that I should better represent Earth and not let personal matters get in the way of my duties with SG1 and am feeling much more like myself now. As I'm sure you can see."

He nodded as he made some notes in the file. "I can see that you are no more willing to talk about what happened than you were with General Landry and the rest of your team."

"What! Don't be ridiculous--"

He closed the file and leaned forward. "Look, Vala, I can see that you've got a lot to deal with. If you aren't ready to talk about it, that's fine."

She perked up at this. "Really? You aren't going to try to make me spill my deepest and darkest thoughts to you? Reveal the broken inner child within?"

He shook his head and stood. "Nope. But I am going to let you know that when you are ready to talk, I'll be here."

"Are you transferring to our base then?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"Only temporarily," he answered as he walked to the door. "Only until General Landry is satisfied with your progress." He turned his attention to the SF outside before Vala could respond. "You may escort Miss Mal Doran back to her room."

Vala dropped her head onto the table, realized that Dr. Hutchinson wasn't talking about releasing her. He was letting her know that he would be waiting patiently for her to play the game on his terms.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Hey Jackson!"

Daniel pulled his eyes away from the reference book in front of him and turned to see Cam jogging down the hall in his direction. "Aren't you on Vala duty?"

"Nah, it's Teal'c's shift," Mitchell responded. "But I think you need to talk to your girl."

"_My_ girl?" he asked with eyebrows raised.

Cam seemed to ignore Daniel's argument. Everyone knew that he took full responsibility for Vala, and Cam was really starting to wonder why that was. "Look, she had her first meeting with the doc and I have a feeling it didn't go very well."

"Oh," Daniel closed the book and crossed his hands in front of him. "And why do you think that?"

"Well, because I saw Dr. Hutchinson after and asked him how it went. He said not well," Mitchell replied. "I think you should talk to her."

"What makes you think she'll listen to me?" he drummed his fingers against the book in his hand, trying really hard not to take his frustrations out on Mitchell. He knew that the news that Vala wasn't taking her psych evaluation seriously was the source of his anger. After all this time, he expected more of her than the usual games she was used to playing. It seemed like every time he marveled at how far she had come, she proved that he had overestimated her.

"Look," his twang thickening with his own frustrations, "we're already short one team member and Landry has grounded us until this whole thing with Vala is sorted out. So the sooner we get her to cut the crap, the sooner we get back on the road, catch my drift?"

Daniel hung his head with a sigh. "I'll see what I can do."

Cam clapped him on the back. "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Teamwork!"

"Don't hold your breath!" Daniel called after Mitchell, who was already bounding down the corridor.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The door to Vala's room in the infirmary was cracked as Daniel approached it, his lips pressed tight together as he tried to suppress his anger. He rested his hand on the doorknob as he tried to compose himself. He let the rhythm of the voices inside steady himself before he recognized the deep baritone of Teal'c's voice.

"I believe it is unwise to fight this process, Vala Mal Doran." The Jaffa's voice was stern but surprisingly gentle, as if he were consoling her.

Daniel heard Vala let out a sigh.

She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin upon them. "I'm not sure I know how _not to_, Muscles. Every time I turn around, these people want to talk about all the bad things....Adria, my home, my time as Qetesh. I'm not really a talker. At least, not about personal stuff. Never have been really."

"It is an adjustment," Teal'c agreed.

"See, you're not much of a talker either, but they let you get away with it because you can do that odd eyebrow thing." She tilted her head so that her cheek was resting on her knee. "How do you deal with all of this? I'm sure plenty of bad things have happened to you and no one stuck you in a little padded cell. You didn't have to talk to Dr. Hutchinson when you killed Arkad. And your actions were decidedly more violent than mine. I just lobbed a couple of rocks at those idiots."

Daniel had to admit that she had a point. Teal'c had been through similar incidents when confronted with the people he once called his own and thought him a traitor, and he hadn't been put through such scrutiny. Maybe they really were putting too much pressure on Vala to open up to them about all of her troubles. He glanced down at his watch, seeing that he had a few more hours until he was scheduled to relieve Teal'c. He decided to change direction and head for General Landry's office instead.

He stumbled on his own feet as he crossed the threshold of the briefing room, finding Landry was in the middle of a meeting with a few of the members of the Atlantis expedition. His feet had carried him there automatically and he had been unaware of his surroundings until he found all eyes in the briefing room on him, mainly due to the way Woolsey had jumped to his feet the moment he saw Daniel enter the room. Daniel had to chuckle inwardly at Woolsey's reaction. He had found on his last trip to Atlantis that the former IOA representative was more than a little jumpy whenever Daniel caught him off guard. He was certain that it was due to his encounter with him as a Prior. Who could have those kind of powers and _not_ mess with the man?

"Dr. Jackson," Woolsey greeted as he straightened his tie. "It's good to see you again. Might we be expecting you on Atlantis anytime soon?"

"Yea, Dr. Jackson," Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard agreed, "it has been awhile since you dropped by. You don't call, you don't write...we might start think you're just using us for the ancient database that's at our disposal."

Daniel smiled to himself. Since Atlantis had come to Earth, he had made every effort to go explore the Ancient city whenever he could. Most had expected him to be chomping at the bit to be transferred there permanently, but he had surprised even himself when he had turned down the offer to take up residence in Atlantis. After trying to get there so many times over the years and failing, mostly due to Vala, Daniel was starting to listen to whatever higher power was trying to tell him he wasn't meant to be on Atlantis. And if he were being completely truthful, he just didn't think he'd ever be able to follow Woolsey's command.

"Well, as I'm sure you know by now, we've been a little busy here trying to prepare for the upcoming Tok'ra summit," he answered. "They're very interested in your city."

"Yes, well, I'm sure we'll work something out," Landry spoke up. "Is there something I can help you with Dr. Jackson? I assume you were looking for me?"

"Yes," Daniel responded quickly as he glanced around the room. "I was hoping to speak to you in private when you get a moment. I wasn't aware that you were in a meeting, I'm sorry."

"That's alright, we were just wrapping up." Landry looked to Woolsey. "So how many of your people am I putting up exactly? For these meetings with the IOA?"

Woolsey turned his attention back to the general, his demeanor switching back to that of all business. "Three at a time at most, General. We'll start with Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronan," he answered gesturing to each in kind.

"With off base allowances," Sheppard added quickly and then gave a shrug. "I promised them I'd show them Earth."

"Fine with me, son," Landry stood, signaling the meeting to be at an end. "I'll have Walter show you to your rooms. Dr. Jackson, my office?"

Daniel nodded quickly, giving a quick wave of acknowledgment to the Atlantis team before rushing after General Landry.

Landry had already taken his seat behind his desk and was barking out orders to Walter as quickly as he could before the Chief Sergeant let him know they had already been taken care of. The general shook his head as Daniel closed the door behind him. "I can see now why George always wanted to take Walter with him, even after he retired. It's times like this I really appreciate that man."

Daniel nodded his agreement. "Yea, I can imagine everyone wants a piece of you right now between the IOA, Tok'ra, and Atlantis team."

"And SG1 apparently as you are the second member of your team to drop by," he raised his eyebrows expectantly. "I'm guessing you want to discuss Miss Mal Doran as well."

"Yes, I was hoping you would reconsider your decision to keep her in confinement until Dr. Hutchinson clears her." He clamped his mouth shut at the General's look, then took a deep breath. "We all agree that Vala has had a lot to deal with since she joined SG1, but you have to admit that given the circumstances, she handled herself much better than she could have with her level of skill and cunning."

He leaned back in his chair as he considered this. "So you're saying that I should let this slide because she is capable of much worse?"

"Yes and no," Daniel answered slowly. "I just think it's unfair to expect her to deal with these things on our terms. She needs to deal with it on hers and for her, not just so she can return to active duty. And I'm not saying you should send Dr. Hutchinson back....well, to where ever he came from, I'm not sure. I think he's good for Vala. I just think this should be more on her terms than forced. No one ever forced us to deal with our issues this way, even when they came up," he added quietly.

The general sighed as Dr. Jackson finished his speech. "Very well. I'll consider different terms. Now if you'll excuse me, I have bigger things to worry about right now than your teammate."

Satisfied that Landry would mull things over more, Daniel gave a quick bow of his head and took his leave, happy to have some potential good news to give Vala once he relieved Teal'c.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"Carolyn _please_," Vala whined. "I'm so bored! I don't think I can take much more of this! They won't even let me have a television in here!"

"It's the infirmary, Vala," Dr. Lam pointed out, "not a hotel. And you chose to come here!"

"I didn't have much choice! Your father is holding me hostage!"

Carolyn shook her head slowly. "I might not agree with his methods here, but he is the commander of this base. So what he says goes."

Vala nodded eagerly. "Exactly! And I'm not asking that you bust me out of here, I'm simply asking you to give me something that will help the time pass in a more tolerable manner."

"For the last time, Vala, I am not going to sedate you." She patted her arm. "I came by here as your friend, not your doctor. I wanted to see how you were doing."

She brushed her ebony hair over her shoulder with an exaggerated pout. "I'm dying, that's how I'm doing!"

The doctor nodded slowly, pressing her lips together to keep from showing her amusement at her friend and patient. "That's what I figured. I brought you some magazines though."

Vala brightened, taking the magazines Carolyn handed her. "Ohhh! I haven't read these yet!" she announced happily as she scanned through the choices.

"Good. See, no need for sedation after all."

"No, but Daniel just walked in," Vala responded without looking up from her perusing, "and I'm sure I can convince him to zat me if I pester him enough."

Daniel looked back and forth between Dr. Lam and Vala with confusion. "Why would I be zatting you exactly?"

Carolyn let out an annoyed breath as she answered. "Vala seems to think that her stay here will be much easier if she is unconscious."

Vala leaned forward, examining Carolyn with that special look in her eyes that Daniel recognized as her manipulation face. "You know, Carolyn, if you really are my friend you could use your influence over your father to help get me out."

Daniel held up his hand before as Carolyn opened her mouth to argue. "No need. I talked to General Landry earlier and he is rethinking your situation."

Vala's jaw dropped at this. "You talked to General Landry on my behalf?"

Carolyn lipped her thank you to Daniel for helping her to skirt Vala's request, and then turned back to Vala. "I'll come check on you later."

Vala barely seemed to register Carolyn's departure as she focused on Daniel. "So General Landry is going to let me out after all? How did you manage that?"

"I didn't, not yet. I said he was thinking about it," the archeologist quickly clarified. "And I said different terms."

She frowned at this. "What sort of different terms?"

"Well," he dragged out the word, "he might let you go, but Dr. Hutchinson stays."

"What? Why?"

Rather than try to explain, he simply asked, "Would you rather be confined in here until Dr. Hutchinson signs off on you?"

She contemplated this a moment, her mouth twisting. "That depends. Are you willing to zat me?" When all he did was lift his eyebrows in response, she let out a groan. "Fine, I agree to these new terms. Now when can I leave?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I don't even know if he is, I just thought that you should know he's considering it, which is considerably better than if he wasn't."

Vala's head dropped between her shoulders in defeat. "Don't suppose you have a zat on you?"

Daniel laughed as he walked up to her, giving her knee a gentle pat. "No I don't, but I'm sure it's not that bad."

She raised her head, a coy and smug look on her face. "It doesn't have to be." She lifted her brows and bit her lip at the implication. "I certainly know of a few ways to alleviate my frustrations."

He bounced his head between his shoulders in mock consideration. "Or I could just zat you."

She placed her hand over his, which was still resting on her knee though she was sure he hadn't realized it. It was these little touches that had her convinced that she could get through to him. It seemed like they grew closer and closer each day, his resistances and defenses lowering the closer they became. "I think my way is more fun." She hooked her legs around his knees, forcing them to buckle and causing him to drop closer to her. Her hands automatically slid down to his belt, and to her surprise he made no move to stop her.

"You don't know how to take no for an answer, do you?" he asked, so close that his breath tickled her cheek.

"I haven't heard any objections so far," she pointed out, her grey eyes dancing as they looked into his.

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He placed both hands on either side of her, causing her to drop back onto her elbows. When he opened his eyes, she was shocked to see the anger ablaze in them. He was absolutely furious, but she couldn't understand why.

"Would it really make any difference?" His voice was low and harsh, his expression hard and cold. "I've been saying no for all these years and you still keep it coming. Would you really leave it alone if I said yes? Would you back off then?" She started to stammer out an answer but he cut her off. "Would that help you feel better about everything with Amotis and your people? Use me so you can feel better about yourself?"

His words hit a nerve somewhere, and her fierce eyes matched his as she shoved him away from her. "I think you should go now."

"Oh, I fight fire with fire and it's too much for you?" He lashed back.

She laughed sardonically at this. "Fire with fire? Right. I offer myself to you and you throw everything in my face, that's clearly matching a blow for a blow. Where I guess I can see how you would be so insulted by my offer since it is _me_ afterall--I mean, how disgusting, really. The nerve."

He pointed a finger at her as he argued back, "Don't you do that! Don't you put words into my mouth! You started this!"

She shook her head sadly as she walked over to the door. Her shoulders slumped as she placed a hand on her doorknob. "I suppose I shouldn't be shocked. My own people rejected me, why shouldn't you?"

Her words stilled his anger. "Vala--"

She swung the door open, addressing the two SF's guarding her without looking at them. "Gentlemen, would you be so kind as to escort Dr. Jackson out? I don't much feel like company anymore and he seems to have lost his way to the door."

Daniel was shaking his head. "It's okay guys, we're just having a minor disagreement. If you'll excuse us--"

One of the SF's was shifted his gaze from the very distraught looking Vala back to Daniel. "Dr. Jackson, if you could come this way please."

Daniel clamped his mouth shut, shooting Vala a quick glare though she still refused to look up from the tiled floor. He glanced between the two airmen and walked out the door without another word.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Vala paced back in forth in the briefing room, waiting on him to get there. He had kept her waiting for half an hour, and she couldn't be more furious. Well, she was furious as it was but that was sort of the point. He kept going on and on about how he wanted her to open up, well she was about to open up to him so much that he'd be begging to take the words back. He was definitely in for it.

The door opened and he entered as if nothing were wrong, a file under one arm as he used one hand to push his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.

"It's about time!" Vala practically shouted. "Sit down!"

His eyes widened, but he obeyed.

"You want me to talk, so here it is! Me talking!" She made an exaggerated sweeping motion with both arms, as if to say 'ta da'. "I want to know why it is that people find it so hard to believe that other people can change," she demanded, then quickly continued before he could respond. "I mean, you would think that after all these years _someone _would notice that I'm not off trying to steal ships or sleep with any man in sight! But _noooo_ I lose my head just a teensy bit when confronted with a very traumatic piece of my past and I get locked away for it! I'm treated as if I cannot be trusted! After all this time and after everything I've been through, I should have earned their trust and _then_ some! And I try to take comfort in the one person that can actually give that sort of comfort to me and what happens? I get shot down. I might as well be back on my own fending for myself with the way they're treating me!"

She took a seat, her chest heaving after her little tirade. He waited patiently for her to continue, but instead she folded her hands on the table and flopped her head down on top of them.

"So you regret your decision to join Stargate Command then?" He finally inquired when he was certain she was done.

Her head snapped up, eyes narrowing at the little man in front of her. "Don't you try to psychoanalyze me! I didn't come here for your usual services. I came here because I wanted to yell at someone and Daniel was too far away at that point."

Dr. Hutchison nodded slowly. "So you are really angry with Dr. Jackson then?"

"Yes," she answered with a huff.

"Would you like to talk about your relationship with him?"

Vala groaned as she laid her head back down on the table. "This was a bad idea."

He closed the folder and leaned forward. "You asked for this meeting. And you brought up Dr. Jackson. Clearly there's something concerning him that you would like to discuss."

She looked back up at the psychiatrist with defeat. "What does it matter? I'm sure he'll be leaving soon too."

Dr. Hutchison's curiosity piqued at this. "Too? Are you referring to Adria?"

Vala seemed dumbfounded by this question. "What? No! I was talking about Samantha. And you might want to reread your file because Adria didn't so much leave as die and then ascend....and now either cease to exist or is off somewhere on some higher plane still fighting with Morgan Le Fey." She tilted her head in contemplation. "No one really knows, actually. Least, not from what Daniel has said."

"Yes, back to Daniel," he encouraged. "What makes you think he's leaving? Because Colonel Carter did?"

She gave a weak shrug. "Atlantis is here. He's spent every free moment he has over there. He's always talked about being transferred there but something," she paused, biting her lip innocently and wondering just how much of her life was in that file, "no idea what, kept getting in the way. What's to stop him now when it's just a hop, skip, and a leap away?"

"So you feel like you are being left behind?"

"No, I didn't say that," she tried to force a smile. "I'm happy for Samantha, really. And I'll be happy for Daniel when he finally takes up permanent residence in Atlantis. Just like I'll be happy for Teal'c when he is eventually elected new leader of the Free Jaffa, or at least part of their council. But.."

"Where will that leave you?"

She was staring down at the table, trying to muster up the strength to shrug or something. "I don't know, really. I guess that's sort of the question," she answered in an honest whisper.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

There was a light knock upon the doorframe to Daniel's office that caused him to look up from the tablet he was squinting at. He lifted his brows at the goofy grin painted on General Jack O'Neill's face, then turned back to his work.

"Daniel," Jack greeted as if it were a question.

"Jack," Daniel repeated in the same tone.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Jack came into the room, clutching one hand dramatically over his heart. "I'm wounded, I mean really. I come in days early just to spend some quality time with my buddies, and I don't even get a smile?"

He forced a smile, looking up at his friend and former colleague once more. "So where's Sam?"

Jack feigned innocence at this. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

His cover was blown as Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter poked her head around the door from where she had been waiting. She was biting her lip, her nose wrinkled in an apologetic manner, much in the way he was used to. "Hi Daniel."

Daniel smiled genuinely at them both. "A little early for the summit, don't you think?"

They shared a look before Jack answered. "We felt we should probably prepare. With dinner. You game?"

"Sure, let me just wrap up a few things here."

"Great!" Sam looked around his office expectantly. "Where's Vala?"

Daniel sucked in a breath audibly. "She's not available."

Sam's shoulders slumped. "What happened?"

He closed the books he had been using for his research with the tablet as he tried to think of how to answer. "I'll explain at dinner."

"Jackson!"

The sound of Mitchell's angered voice had all three turning around to stare at him as he rounded the doorway. He looked between Sam and Jack for a moment before fixing his glare on Daniel. "Sam, General. Good to see you."

Jack looked between Cam and Daniel, Cam still glaring and Daniel looking resigned, almost as if he knew what he had done wrong already. "This should be interesting."

"Would you two excuse us for a moment?" Cam asked, his words a bit clipped. "Jackson and I have some team business to discuss."

"We don't mind," Jack offered, ignoring Sam's admonishing look. "I miss team business."

Mitchell tilted his head for a moment, then seemed to decide he didn't care if the former members of SG1 heard their conversation. "Alright. You're probably gonna want to hear this anyway, Sam, since you'll no doubt be doing damage control."

"There's no damage control--" Daniel started before Cam took a quick step forward.

"What the hell were you thinking, Jackson? Is that your idea of being helpful? Because I'm pretty sure that's what General Landry asked us to do was _help_ her, not _yell_ at her."

Daniel tried to stifle a sigh as he met Sam's confused look. "Vala and I had a minor disagreement."

"Minor?" Cam asked incredulously. "Two SF's escorted you out of her room, Jackson! I'd say that's a bit more than minor!"

"Woh, what the hell is going on here Cam?" Sam turned back to Daniel. "And why did you have to be escorted out of Vala's room?"

Daniel balked at the accusation in her tone. "Because she was being ridiculous and didn't want to listen! And it's not that big of a deal. Vala and I fight all the time, in case you haven't noticed, Mitchell."

"Yea, but what doesn't happen every day is Vala being confronted with the people who tried to kill her," Cam bit back. "Or did that little tidbit slip your mind when you were yelling at her?"

"What? You expect me to coddle her because of this? Because I'm not exactly sure that's best right now and Vala sure as hell isn't appreciative when we do!"

"I expect you to cut her some slack while she's stuck in there!"

Samantha stepped in between the two men as their voices elevated and the tension grew higher. "Alright, that's enough!"

Daniel whipped off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turned away. He already felt guilty enough for what he had said to Vala without Cam butting in. And since when did Cam become Vala's rescuer?

Carter relaxed her arms as both men turned away. "What is going on here guys? I mean, besides Daniel and Vala arguing."

"Yea," Jack agreed with a shrug, "which I gotta side with Daniel here and say what's the big deal with that? They've been doing that since she kicked his ass on the Prometheus."

Daniel turned back around. "She did not--"

"It doesn't matter!" Sam cried out. "The point is that you two fighting is not out of the ordinary." She looked back to Mitchell. "But you siding with Vala is. Now someone please tell me the whole story."

Cam clenched his jaw as he cut his eyes to the archeologist. "SG1 is currently grounded and Vala is confined to the infirmary until Dr. Hutchison releases her."

"Dr. Hutchison? But he's a psychiatrist," Sam questioned.

Mitchell gave a knowing look. "Exactly."

Sam's demeanor changed to that of concern for her friend. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Daniel answered in a calming voice.

"No, she's not," Cam pressed through gritted teeth. "The last mission we went on landed us on Vala's home planet."

Samantha's eyes widened as Jack shrugged. "So? She steal something from them?"

"More like she was stolen from them, sir," Sam answered. "That's the place where Vala was taken from by Qetesh."

"Ohh," Jack dragged out the word. "Not happy to see her I'm guessing?"

"The last time Vala was there was after she was released from Qetesh by the Tok'ra," Daniel explained. "They didn't believe her when she told them and tried to stone her to death for Qetesh's crimes." He turned a questioning gaze to Samantha. "How did you know?"

The corners of her mouth turned down. "I didn't know all of that. Vala just mentioned it in passing once." She shifted her feet as she elaborated. "We talked about how we both moved around a lot, her because of Jacek and me because I was a military brat. She told me that she and her mother had settled back down in the village where she was born not long before Qetesh took her as host."

Daniel nodded slowly, not at all surprised that Sam didn't have the whole story. "Well, there's a lot more to it than that."

"Oh boy," Sam responded with a wince.

"Yea, yea. Well, needless to say Vala freaked out when confronted with her people again."

There was a moment of silence, both men unsure as to how to describe her actions, before O'Neill gestured with his hand and said, "Well? Go on. What happened?"

"She decided to give them a taste of their own medicine and tried stoning them to death," Cam responded.

"She did not try to stone them to death." Daniel couldn't help but roll his eyes. "She was throwing rocks at them."

"Even as Teal'c was carrying her back to the gate, Jackson. She was out of her head. And you aren't really doing much to help that right now!"

"Me? What am I supposed to do?"

"Talk to her! And note, I didn't say yell, I said talk to her!"

Daniel threw up his hands in frustration. "You act like she listens to me! Here's how it works with Vala, Mitchell: I tell her to do something, and she does the complete opposite!" He was practically shouting at this point. It was not his fault that Vala hadn't been released by Dr. Hutchison yet. Hell, it wasn't even Dr. Hutchison's fault--it was Vala's! She was the one being so damn stubborn! "You're just upset because SG1 is grounded until Dr. Hutchison releases Vala, which means you should be yelling at Vala and not me! If she would stop--just for one moment stop--playing games and actually take this seriously, then she wouldn't have even been in there to begin with!"

Jack raised his hand in question. "Um, why is it that she's in the infirmary again? You kinda skipped over that part and went back to yelling at each other."

Daniel ran his hand over his face, trying to calm down. "She was still throwing rocks at the people we were sent to help when we came through the gate. Needless to say, Landry didn't exactly like that. She refused to tell him anything beyond Qetesh having a history with the people she was attacking, so he sent her to the infirmary."

"It's not like he had much of a choice," Cam defended at the look of disapproval and shock on Sam's face. "The president and the Tok'ra will be here in a few days, which means there are IOA people all over just waiting for the slightest screw up. Half the damn base saw her little hissy fit, so he had to take action."

"Ah," Jack nodded sagely before turning to Daniel. "So what did you do to screw this up so bad?"

"I didn't---" Daniel stopped himself at Jack's knowing gaze and the 'yea right' look on Sam's face. He could feel that his own was probably red by now, his frustration and anger building, though mainly at himself. "Vala was pulling her usual antics, and I lost my temper with her."

"And by usual antics you mean?" O'Neill pressed.

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "I mean usual antics." He gave Jack a look that told him not to press it. He was not about to launch into the embarrassing details of their encounter. "I said some things that I shouldn't have, and didn't realize that I had hurt her feelings until she was kicking me out." He turned his eyes back to Cam. "Happy?"

"No," Cam answered matter of factly. "I'll be happy when you fix this so our girl can get out." He dropped his head, placing his hands on his hips. He approached Daniel and lowered his voice. "Look, Jackson. It's not just about going back out there. She was shaking when we got back. And in the infirmary...." He looked to the ceiling as he let out a deep breath, remembering the haunted look in her eyes. "She's hurting enough as it is right now. You can only bury stuff so deep for so long. Just...fix this. She's got enough to deal with."

Daniel didn't say anything, just nodded an okay to Mitchell, who then clapped his hand on Daniel's arm, giving it a light squeeze. He watched the Colonel excuse himself from Sam and Jack, the weight of Vala's issues weighing heavily on his shoulders. All he had wanted to do since being held captive with her and finding out the truth in the words she had spoken all those years ago to him was help her, and here he had just caused her more pain. He sighed in defeat, forcing a smile to his old teammates before heading to the infirmary.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Cam leaned against the doorjamb to the gym, watching Vala pound away at a punching bag. He had seen her stance change slightly when he came in, so he knew she sensed he was there. He waited patiently as she punched and kicked the bag, unloading all of her frustrations on it. He was just happy it wasn't Jackson's face she had decided to take her anger out on.

Vala wasn't sure which of her friends was standing behind her, but she found herself really hoping it wasn't Daniel. She had been released from the infirmary only an hour or so ago and had already heard from various personnel that he was looking for her. She had avoided all of her usual haunts after that, settling for taking an extended duty of the base as she gathered her thoughts. Talking to Dr. Hutchison yesterday had opened up a very sore spot for her, and she was feeling far too vulnerable and raw to be faced with Daniel at the moment. Her fist hammered into the bag at the thought. The psychiatrist had reported to General Landry that he felt like she was making progress, like she was on the verge of a breakthrough. _I'll show him a breakthrough_, she thought to herself as she brought her knee into the side of the bag. She whipped herself around, slamming the back of her arm against the bag as hard as she could, which hit at an awkward angle and caused her to cry out in pain.

Cam had straightened at her cry of pain, but as she began to hop up and down cursing as she held her injured arm, he realized she was okay. "You alright?" he asked as he approached.

She had doubled over, clinging to her arm with her good hand. She let out an angry huff as she glared up at him. "I'm _fine_, Mitchell. I don't know why you people insist on thinking otherwise."

He let out a soft chuckle as he reached out to examine her arm. She reluctantly lifted it to him. "Well, you see, generally when people scream in pain, it means they aren't okay." He cut his eyes to her in time to see her somewhat embarrassed response. "It doesn't look broken, but you might wanna get an x-ray."

Vala jerked her arm out of his grasp, causing her to wince. "I think I've seen enough of the infirmary for the past few days, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me."

"Not so fast," he said as she started to walk away.

She dropped her head in defeat, turning around slowly. "Yes, Cam?"

"Jackson's looking for you."

"So I heard." She made to turn around again but he cleared his throat noticeably.

Cam walked up to her. "And I think you should go talk to him."

"Are you saying that as my friend or as my commander or whatever?" She asked with a hopeful smile.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's say both."

"And I don't suppose I could use that whole 'I'm a civilian so you can't give me orders' thing that Daniel does, can I?"

He shook his head, turning her around so that she was facing the door. "You're not a civilian, you're an alien." He gave her a gentle push to the door, ignoring her mutters of protest. "And get that arm checked out after!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"Reporting for duty as ordered, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel looked up at the sound of her annoyed and somewhat sarcastic voice in the doorway of his office, frowning at her mock salute. _Dr. Jackson?_ He gave her a questioning look.

She blew out a breath, her cheeks puffing up as she did so. "Cam told me you were looking for me."

"As did quite a few other people from what I've heard," Daniel replied as he leaned back on the stool. "So I'm 'Dr. Jackson' now?"

She gave a nonchalant shrug. "That is your name and salutation if I'm not mistaken. What are we working on?"

He shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth the argument. "_We_ aren't working on anything. That's not why I was looking for you."

"Very well then."

He clamped back on the scream of frustration as she bounced back towards the door. "Vala."

She spun on her heel, giving him a fake smile. "Yes Daniel?"

He gestured to the stool beside him. "Please?"

She rolled her eyes, but conceded as she took a seat. "Before you say anything, I'll have you know that I do not need to nor want to talk about what happened back on that wretched planet and I am more than tired of everyone pestering me to do so."

He folded his hands in his lap, leaning forward slightly. "I know, and I'm sorry."

She eyed him skeptically. "You're sorry?"

"Yes. I overheard your conversation with Teal'c before and I realized that you're right. We shouldn't be pressuring you into talking about your past." He shifted his eyes as he continued. "And I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

"Why?"

He lifted his eyes to her, confused by the question. "Because I hurt you and that wasn't my intention," he answered slowly.

She laughed sarcastically. "Oh, please! You didn't hurt me, Daniel."

"Then why did you kick me out?" he challenged.

She gave a slight shrug. "Because you obviously weren't going to have sex with me."

He was looking at her with doubt. He could tell that she was lying to him. "So you're saying that the things I said to you, the fact that I rejected you in that manner, didn't upset you at all?"

"Well I was certainly not happy at the mention of my exfiancé turned attempted murderer," she responded. "But I wouldn't say you hurt me. I'm not near as fragile as you seem to think, Daniel."

He leaned forward intensely. "I don't think you're fragile, Vala. I've never accused you of that. But I also know you aren't made of stone." He placed his hand on top of hers, which was atop her knee. "And I know you well enough to know that you're hurting right now. I can see it. And I'd like to help you."

She gently pulled her hand away from his. "I think we've just touched on the real issue here, Daniel. I'm not her, so please stop acting like you need to save me."

His face dropped at her words, knowing exactly who the 'she' was that Vala was referring to. "I never said you were, Vala. And I'm not trying to save you. And especially not to make up for the fact that I couldn't save her." His words were quiet and slow, trying his best to control his emotions as he knew Vala was just trying to push him away using what would hurt the most. "Look, I'm trying to say I'm sorry. We're friends, right? Or should I start calling you 'Miss Mal Doran'?"

"No. To the calling me Miss Mal Doran," she clarified. "And just because we're friends doesn't mean I have to share every aspect of my life with you." Cursing the sincerity in his sparkling blue eyes, she pressed on. "There are...darker aspects of my life that I don't like discussing. Bad things happen, but there's no reason to dwell."

Daniel eased himself off the stool to where he was standing directly in front of her. "Can I just say one thing?" He took her lack of protests as a yes and went on. "You don't have to dwell, but you don't have to run anymore either. You have a safe place now and people you can count on who want to be there for you. That's what friends do. I just want to make sure you know that."

Her eyes softened as she looked up into his. "I do. And I'm thankful for that, really I am. I'm just...not very good at playing victim."

"I know," he conceded softly. "And I'm not asking you to. Just know that I'm here. I always will be."

Vala smiled at this, but she couldn't help but doubt his words. She bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"So," he broke the silence, "I have to say, I never would have guessed Amotis to be your type."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure exactly," he answered honestly. "Maybe because he was just seemed so....hard."

She started fiddling with the paper weight on his desk so as to avoid his eyes. "He wasn't like that before. He was kind and gentle. And a hopeless romantic," she let out a small laugh as she let herself get lost in her memories. "Much like Tomin, really. Maybe that's why I fell in love with Tomin. He reminded me of my first love." She tried to school her expression as she looked back up at Daniel. "But like Tomin, he changed. Qetesh was a brutal leader. She changed those people. They weren't always like that."

Daniel had to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her. He could see how tortured she was by this. He found himself missing how easy things had been between them when the Trust had caused her to lose her memory. He had held her for what felt like forever as she cried through her confusion and the pain of her memories, and she had clung to him as if for dear life. He wished he could do that again--wrap his arms around her and bring her the comfort he knew she needed. But he knew how she would react. She would either push him away or turn it into a sexual innuendo like she had in the infirmary.

Instead of playing through that vicious cycle again, he settled for just saying, "It's not your fault."

She smiled brightly at him, though her eyes were starting to glass over from the tears that were threatening to form. "I know." She paused slightly as she looked around. "Well, I should probably let you get back to work."

"I don't mind the company," he offered.

"I've been cooped up in the infirmary for days, Daniel. I don't much feel like staying in one place." She hopped off the stool. "I think I'll just go grab a bite to eat, maybe go spar with Teal'c. I'll see you later?"

He gave a firm nod. "I'll be here," he assured her, hoping she understood his meaning.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

General Landry was staring down at the stack of papers on his desk in exhaustion. It seemed like the Tok'ra summit would never arrive for all the work that kept piling up. With just one more day left until the president arrives, he was more than pressed for the time to get it all done. He looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching and seemed relieved to see Dr. Jackson.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Daniel's question went unanswered as the siren announcing unscheduled offworld activation rang through the base.

General Landry paused, shaking his head slowly. "Never fails. Walk with me?"

Daniel nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets as he followed the general to the Control Room. "I assume you would like to know the progress of the treaty I've been working on that would grant the Tok'ra access to Atlantis?"

"Among other things, yes. I have to say, as reluctant as they've been to share their technology over the years, I'm finding myself pretty reluctant to recommend this to the President."

"Yes," the diplomat stifled a groan, wondering why it was that he always found himself in the same argument with military leaders when it came to the reluctance of their allies with advanced technologies to share, "but you have to agree that the Tok'ra have always come through for us when we needed it. They might not be willing to hand us over weapons of mass destruction, but they have been willing to trade intelligence when needed."

"Yes and I also have to note that they never exactly showed themselves when we needed the manpower against the Ori." The General nodded to Walter. "What is it?"

Walter gave the General a double take at his tone, but noted his look of warning. "It's SG14, sir."

"Aren't they the ones who went back to Vala's home planet?" Mitchell asked as he approached with Colonel Sheppard.

"Yes they are. Open up a channel, chief." The general paused while Walter obeyed and Colonel Connors face appeared onscreen, looking more than annoyed. "This is General Landry. What's the problem son?"

"Well, sir, they refuse to talk to us," the Colonel responded as his eyes cut to the people in question. "There's definitely evidence of the Lucian Alliance being here with the intelligence we've been able to gather, but it seems all they want to talk about is Vala Mal Doran of SG1, sir. They want us to bring her back. Seem to think we're holding her against her will."

"She was throwing rocks at them and screaming profanities....and they think we're holding her _against her will_?" Cam clarified with disbelief.

Daniel was already shaking his head. "There's no way we're sending her back there." His eyes widened in question as General Landry's head swung around to him. "Right? I mean, you can't be thinking of sending her back there after all they've put her through."

"I'm not," Landry replied sternly. "But we can't just let the Lucian Alliance get a foothold in this planet because one of our members has a bad history with them."

"Then I'll go back through," Daniel volunteered. "I was able to get Amotis to listen to me before."

"Negative, Dr. Jackson. I need you here for the summit," the general sighed audibly.

"Sir," Colonel Connors spoke up, "the one Dr. Jackson mentioned is here. He said he's willing to come through if he can talk to Vala. He said he'd like to talk to Dr. Jackson as well."

Daniel wasn't sure he liked the look on Mitchell's face as he crossed his arms and addressed the General. "Send him through. SG1 would be glad to keep our guest company."

"The tone of your voice makes me wonder if that would be such a good idea, son." General Landry turned to Daniel expectantly. "Can you two keep it under control long enough to deal with him?" He waited for the two to nod before turning back to the screen to address Connors. "Very well. Send him through. Walter, open the iris." Landry gave a hesitant glance to the two members of SG1. "We'll discuss the summit after our guest has settled in. And I do mean 'guest' gentlemen."

Sheppard followed Daniel and Cam down the stairs to the gateroom. "Who is this guy again?"

"A jerk," Cam replied bitterly. "A jerk with a lot of nerve."

Both Cam and Daniel stiffened, their eyes in a mirroring glare aimed at the man coming through the gate. Amotis stood on the ramp looking around the gateroom before focusing on Daniel. "Where is my fiancé?"

Sheppard waited for someone to respond but only felt the tension in the room thicken. He noticed that Cam had clenched his jaw at the question and Dr. Jackson had let out a humorless laugh. He shifted his torso to lean more toward Mitchell as he whispered, "And who is his fiancé exactly?"

"No one," Cam responded through clenched teeth.

"He's talking about Vala," Daniel clarified as he gestured for Amotis to follow him. "Would you mind finding her and letting her know what's going on? She won't want to see him, but I'm sure she wouldn't like to round a corner and run into him, either."

"Yea, tell him we'll take care of Amotis here," Mitchell remarked as he clapped the man on the back a little too hard.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Vala had almost made it to the elevator when she heard a male voice calling her name and the sound of the uniform boots of Stargate Command running towards her. She smiled weakly at Samantha and General O'Neill before turning around slowly. A look of surprise crossed her face before shifting to one of genuine happiness.

"Colonel Sheppard!" she greeted as the male in question approached. "I thought I had heard you were on base."

"John!" Colonel Carter gave him a hug, patting him on the back before allowing room for Jack to shake his hand. "It's good to see you again."

Sheppard was still a little breathy as he had been racing down the hall to catch up with the trio before they left the base. "Good to see you too, Sam. Congratulations on the ship!"

"Thank you," Sam beamed.

"General O'Neill, always a pleasure," he nodded in Jack's direction before turning expectantly back to Vala. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Flattered as I am, I'm afraid I already have plans at the moment, darling. But if you're free later...." she said with a saucy wink.

John took a step closer, placing a hand on her arm. "Flattered as _I_ am, we'll have to continue that conversation later. General Landry is looking for you. He, um, said there's a man who came through the gate asking for you. Claims to be your fiancé."

Both Sam and Jack turned to Vala with question as she seemed to be thinking this over. "What does this man look like? If he's got blonde hair and is about this tall," she lifted her hand just above her head, "I owe him money. If he's a darker man about this tall," she lifted her hand to her chin, "he really wants to kill me."

Sheppard chuckled at this as Sam rolled her eyes. "And just how many fiancés to you have?"

She bit her lip coyly. "I like to keep my options open."

"I'll keep that in mind," John noted. "Well, this fiancé has dark hair, and his name starts with an A...Andy, Amdy, something like that."

Vala sucked in a breathe between her teeth, wincing visibly as she asked, "Amotis you mean?"

"That's the one," Sheppard gestured with a pointed finger. "He's asking to see you and Dr. Jackson."

"Well, you may tell him that I am disinclined to acquiesce his request," she replied smugly. "And tell him that means no."

Carter couldn't help but laugh. "You've been waiting to see that ever since you saw that movie, haven't you?" She cut her eyes to Jack, who merely shrugged innocently.

"What? It's about pirates and she was a pirate...in space. Seemed appropriate."

John lipped the word 'pirate' to Sam, who nodded, before he turned back to Vala. "Dr. Jackson figured you'd say that. Which is why he and Mitchell said that they would handle the guy."

Vala dropped her head, staring at the ground beneath her as if it could swallow her up. Anything to avoid dealing with this. She turned back to Jack and Sam, her frustration painted across her face. "Well, clearly that is a bad idea. They keep nosing around in my past and it is going to be impossible for me to keep any secrets from them." She tried to grin as she lifted her shoulders in an exaggerated manner. "Guess I'll have to go peel them away from my exfiancé before Daniel finds out just what he's been missing by turning me down for sex all these years." She made a point of looking Sheppard up and down. "A mistake I'm sure you'd never make."

Sheppard tried to laugh off the comment as he leaned in to whisper, "Maybe we can catch up later."

"We'll see," Vala responded. She gave a wave to Sam and Jack. "You should head to dinner without me. I have a feeling this is going to take awhile."

Sam was still shaking her head at Sheppard as Vala started off down the corridor.

"What?" He asked incredulously.

"What is it with you and alien women?" She cocked her head to the side as if she was giving it thought. "Are there no women on this planet you're interested in?"

He lifted his hands as if to say 'who knows?' as he began walking backwards. "Vala's on this planet, right?"

Carter laughed as Sheppard jogged to catch up with Vala. "I honestly don't know which one of them I should be worried about."

Jack let out a low whistle. "Looks like Danny boy's got some competition for the girl this time."


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"I don't think we met before. Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell of SG1, that would be Vala's team," he clarified as he leaned forward to the man across the table. "I'd offer to shake your hand, but that's generally a custom we save for people we like or respect. Usually say something like 'Pleased to meet you' when we do it, which would also be a lie."

Amotis ignored Mitchell's taunting and instead looked to the one he thought to be Qetesh's human slave before, who was frowning at the man called Mitchell. "Where is Vala?"

Daniel took in a deep breath to steady himself. "We're not here to talk about her. What can you tell us about your people's involvement with the Lucian Alliance?"

The man folded his hands onto the table before him. "I will speak with Vala before we speak of our people."

"You will not be speaking to Vala at all," Cameron corrected. "And you will answer the man's question."

Daniel placed a hand on Cam's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Cam looked up to Daniel, then rolled his eyes as he got up and gestured for Daniel to take his seat. "Thank you, Cam. Now, Amotis, I'm not sure you understand that these people we're asking about are very dangerous. They're trying to take advantage of the power vacuum the Ori left. They're seeking out planets that were weakened by the war and they are taking them over. They're enslaving them. Now do you really want that for your people?"

"We have not been enslaved since the demon came and took my fiancé," Amotis replied with a glare. "Whom I wish to speak to now."

"So, what? The Ori were your friends before? Cause we were under the impression that they had pretty much enslaved you, too." Cam turned to Daniel with a sarcastic tone. "I'd call burning people alive who don't follow your ways enslavement, wouldn't you?"

Daniel nodded enthusiastically. "Yea, yea I would." He was examining Amotis with a look of disgust. "Are you going to tell us what we need to know or not? Because Cam's right, we're not going to let you see Vala. You and your people have done enough to her."

Vala smiled to herself from just outside the door as she listened in. She had half expected Daniel to be grilling Amotis about her and her history there. But once again he surprised her, jumping to her defense along with Cam.

"You look at me strangely, Dr. Jackson." Amotis raised his chin with pride. "If there is something you would like to ask, please do so. Your friend," he said the word with some contempt, "can fetch my fiancé."

"Fetch his fiance?" Cam repeated with a dubious look to Jackson. "Did he really just say that?"

Daniel hadn't heard Cam. He folded his arms onto the table, leaning forward intensely, the anger evident in his blue eyes. "I'm wondering how you did it."

"Did what?" Amotis asked with genuine confusion.

"How you tried to kill her? How could you do it?" He leaned back again, shaking his head. "She was your fiance. That must mean you loved her, right?"

"I never stopped loving her," he defended as he rose from his chair. "I did what must be done to give my people justice. Do not assume you know of the pain and loss I suffered when the demon took my betrothed, my love. You know nothing of the choices I have had to make!"

Cam let out a humorless laugh. "Of all the people on this base you could have said that to and been right..."

Daniel rose slowly. "My wife was host to Amounet, the wife of the goa'uld Apophis." His penetrating gaze lingered on the table before snapping up to meet Amotis's. "Regardless of what she had become, she was still my wife and I loved her more than anything. And I would have killed anyone who tried to harm her."

"You were not there," Amotis was shaking his head. "And it was not your wife. It was my Vala."

"_My_ Vala now. Our Vala," Daniel quickly corrected. "And it would be no different. We would still do everything to try to save her if there was the slightest chance she could be saved. You can defend yourself to your people and even yourself if that helps you sleep better at night," the disgust was rich in Daniel's voice, "but I know better because I _do know_ of the pain you suffered. And if you really loved her, you never would have laid a hand on her regardless of what you thought she was."

Vala was both dumbfounded and wounded at Daniel's words. Whereas a part of her knew it was true, another part of her would rather live in denial than feel the sting of knowing Amotis had never really loved her and that her own people had never really cared for her. She cleared her throat noticeably from the doorway and all eyes snapped to her. She focused her attention on Daniel and Cam, not yet ready to look Amotis in the eyes.

"Thank you boys, but I think I can take it from here." She pushed herself away from the doorway she had rested her hand upon, starting to pass Cam as she crossed the room. His hand grabbed onto her arm, pulling her close.

"You don't have to do this," he whispered. "He can either talk, or the Lucian Alliance can have them. This doesn't have to involve you."

She patted the hand he had locked onto her elbow, causing him to relax it. Her eyes turned serious as she looked into his. "Thank you. But I have to do this."

"I just said you don't," he pressed.

"She means she has to do it for herself," Daniel clarified as he gave her a look of pride and wonder. "Do you want us to stay with you?"

"It's my understanding that you are both supposed to stand guard from what Colonel Sheppard said as he was escorting me here."

Amotis dropped down to his knee in front of Vala. "They need not stay to protect you. I mean you no harm."

Vala knelt down in front of him and tilted his chin up to look at her, her voice threatening. "They aren't here to protect me. They're here to protect you." She allowed his head to drop back down when she was satisfied he understood her meaning. She placed her hands on her knees and rose slowly, gesturing with her chin for her teammates to give her some space. They opted to stand in the far corner of the room near the door as she paced the length of the table from her side of the room.

"I want you to know I was never with another," Amotis spoke quickly, still kneeling on the ground where she had left him.

Her head snapped up at this, cutting her eyes to Daniel and Cam, who were both unable to stifle their noises of disgust. "Get up. I said get up!"

Amotis rose, reluctantly lifting his eyes to her face. "I never stopped loving you."

She cocked her head to the side as she watched him. "Is that supposed to be an apology? Tell me you always loved me and then kiss my attempted murder all better?"

"No," his voice was almost a whisper, "I just...I wanted you to know. Had I known then..."

"You did know." She had begun her pacing again. "But that's no matter. Why did you come here, Amotis? It wasn't to apologize. That's not why your people are refusing our help against the Lucian Alliance. So what's the bottom line here that you're so hesitant to say?"

"I am here to request that you return through the Chappa'ai with me. Come back to our people and you may defend us against this Lucian Alliance alongside your kinsmen."

She gave a sad smile. "You know that's not going to happen. And they weren't so eager to claim me as one of their own when they were handing me over to the goa'uld." She pressed her hands against the table across from him. "You have your answer. Now will you and your people tell us what we need to know about the Lucian Alliance's involvement on your planet or not?"

"Our people!" he shouted the words. "I know you might not ever forgive me, but how can you so easily dismiss your own people? They were deceived! You must come home with me and show them your forgiveness. There was nothing they could do to save you." He paused, straightening his shoulders. "It is what she would have wanted and you know that."

Vala's fist slammed against the table, causing her teammates to jump. "You don't dare mention her!" She rounded the table, hovering over him. Her eyes were welling over with tears of anger and heartbreak at the memories flooding her mind. "Truthfully, I could forgive you for not saving me from becoming a host. But for what you allowed them to do to her when she was trying to protect me..." Her chin began to quiver along with her hands. "That is what showed you and your people to be the selfish monsters that you really are. My homecoming was no surprise after that."

He had bowed his head, unable to speak any argument. "Your people need you."

She had begun to walk to the door, stopping at his words. "They ceased to be my people when they let my mother die." She addressed her colleagues but refused to look them in the eye, unable to bear the sight of their pity. "Do whatever you like with him. I won't be back, even if it means handing them over to the Lucian Alliance or whatever other evils are out there. They deserve it for all they've done." She didn't give either man a chance to respond before breezing out of the room.

Cam gestured with his head for Daniel to follow. "I'll take care of him."

Daniel nodded, then jogged after Vala. "Hey!" he called as he caught up with her.

She stood there, keeping her back turned to him. "Really Daniel, whatever lecture you have on saving the world will have to wait. I'd rather be alone right now."

He didn't say anything, just placed to gentle hands on her shoulders and turned her around. "I could care less about any of that right now. Are you okay?"

She lifted a shoulder, though it seemed to take too much effort to be as nonchalant as she would usually try to be. She bowed her head, biting her lip to try to keep herself together. "I will be. I guess."

He pulled her into a hug, not caring what guards she might throw up. He knew it was what she needed at the time being. He almost breathed a sigh of relief as he felt her melt in his embrace slightly.

For the moment, Vala let herself relax in Daniel's arms and pretend the world around her wasn't spinning into the complete chaos that seemed to follow her to whatever planet she went to. She eased herself away, giving him a look that she hoped expressed her gratitude more than words could. "I think I really would like to be alone. Would you mind giving Jack and Sam some excuse as to why I'm not out with you all tonight?"

He nodded, his hands still on her arms as he rubbed them gently. "I think I'm gonna sit this one out too. I'll be in my office if you need me for anything," he stressed the 'anything' part a little too forcibly and found himself wishing that she would make some sort of sexual suggestion at it. Anything to let him know she was going to be okay. Instead, she nodded weakly and started heading in the direction of the elevators.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Vala sat in the commissary, one hand as a rest for her chin while the other used her fork to push her food around on the plate. After the events of the past week, she had thought that she would be more than happy with a little time away from her teammates. She was currently finding that this was not the case as she was bored beyond belief. Teal'c wasn't being remotely amusing, so she had stopped pestering him hours ago, intent on finding something else to do or someone else to entertain herself with. Instead, she found herself alone with her thoughts, which was not a good thing given the current situation.

She had found out from Colonel Mitchell that Amotis had been sent back through the Stargate sometime the day before without being any help to them whatsoever. SG14 planned to return this evening if they were unable to gather any information from the villagers. She doubted that they would. She knew they wouldn't see the Lucian Alliance as a real threat. She also knew that they seemed to want her more than they wanted to be free of the Lucian Alliance, though she was still unclear as to why. Thinking of the most likely reason why they would want her to return sent an involuntary shiver up her spine. She pulled the long sleeves of her black shirt down to cover her wrists and hands more thoroughly, tucking them in between her knees when she realized they were shaking. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the images of those she once called her own people spitting on her and cursing at her.

She started as a warm hand touched her shoulder, grabbing it by the wrist as she whipped around.

Colonel John Sheppard eased the tray he was balancing in his other hand down, then lifted it palm up in surrender. "Are you okay?"

She released the offending hand slowly, then turned back to the tray in front of her. "I'm fine. You just startled me, that's all."

A gruff voice laughed from behind Sheppard. "Told you you shouldn't sneak up on her," Ronan took a seat across from Vala. "Nice reflexes."

"Thank you." She forced a smile, still somewhat embarrassed by her reactions though it clearly gained her Ronan's respect.

"Mind if we join you?" Sheppard asked as he gestured to the empty seat next to her.

"Not at all." She brushed her hair, devoid of its usual pigtails, behind her shoulders as she willed herself to cheer up. "I thought you all were in the little meeting with the Tok'ra about Atlantis?"

"We were," John answered as he settled in next to her. "They let us out to lunch."

"Why weren't you there?" Ronan asked, somewhat accusatory.

Vala dipped her head as she tried to think of a simple explanation as to why she wasn't there since SG1 had been requested to be in attendance. "Let's just say the Tok'ra and I don't exactly get on very well."

"Don't mind Ronan," Sheppard leaned closer to her, "he's just jealous that you got out of it when he couldn't. Speaking of history, how did your reunion go yesterday?"

Her eyebrows pulled down in confusion. "Reunion?"

"With your fiancé," he elaborated.

"_Ex_ fiance," she corrected quickly, sitting up a little bit straighter. "And it didn't go so well."

"Yea, meeting up with exes typically doesn't," he agreed. "Didn't go as well as you'd like it?"

"If by that you mean was I able to kill him in a slow and painful way, then no. No it wasn't my ideal encounter." She scrunched her mouth up in mock consideration. "Not even my top three ideal ways, really."

Ronan smiled wickedly. "I like her."

Sheppard bowed his head slightly. "I thought you would." He glanced up as two men entered the cafeteria. "Looks like the Tok'ra finally let Dr. Jackson out."

The wraith runner laughed at the site of the other man. "And Mitchell stopped falling all over that Tok'ra chic."

Vala's back straightened at this. "Did you happen to catch her name?"

Sheppard waved it off. "Nah, some scientist though. Pretty excited about getting her hands on Ancient technology, I can tell you that."

"Well who wouldn't be excited at the thought of visiting your fair city," Vala remarked as Cam and Daniel made their way over.

Sheppard draped his arm across the back of her chair as he leaned closer once more. "You say that, but I can't help but notice that you haven't been there since that first week."

She swung her head up to meet Daniel, who was giving Sheppard an odd look. "Well that would be because Daniel refuses to take me with him when he goes. Though I am practically his research assistant." She leaned closer to John's ear as she mock whispered, "I think he's worried my knowledge of the Ancients might start to rival his."

Daniel gave a sneer to Vala as he took a seat next to Ronan, his usual place next to Vala preoccupied with Sheppard. "I don't take you because I get more work done that way."

"You should bring her with you next time, Dr. Jackson." Sheppard gave Vala a wink, then turned back to Mitchell and Jackson. "We'll keep her out of your hair."

"See Daniel? Other people in this world actually enjoy my company," Vala pointed a finger at him. "Unlike you who never takes me anywhere!" She shifted her attention back to John, whose arm was still draped across the back of her chair. "If not for Samantha and occasionally Cam, I'd never get off this base to see your planet."

"You should come out with me tonight then," Sheppard said with a lift of his shoulder before using his free hand to take a sip of his coffee.

She felt her face flush, realizing all eyes were on her. Except for Daniel's, who was looking at Colonel Sheppard in shock, which she found to be quite insulting. "Do you mean a date?"

He gave a slanted smile as his eyes cut to Ronan. "Normally I'd say yes, but I promised Ronan we would go out tonight. So I meant with both of us, and anyone else who would like to join," he added as he looked to the two members of SG1, Cam trying to hide a snicker and Daniel still looking surprised.

"For heaven's sake, Daniel," Vala chided, "Close your mouth! Is it really so surprising that I get asked out on dates?"

"What?" Daniel shook himself, trying to hide his frown. "No, I just....nevermind," he said with a sigh. "I'll have to pass, Colonel Sheppard. I've got work to do for the summit."

Sheppard lifted a brow to Mitchell, who was shaking his head. "I think I'll sit this one out too. I've got other plans."

"Last time he went out with us he got into a drinking match with me," Vala explained. "I won, but he was so drunk that he somehow managed to lose his pants whilst singing 'Sweet Home Alabama' during karaoke."

"_That_," Cam ground out the word, "is not entirely accurate and not the reason I'm sitting this one out. Like I said, I've got other plans."

She gave her best innocent eyes as she shrugged at Mitchell. "Not sure what you're still so upset about. You won the karaoke contest. Beat me even, and I have to admit I am quite fabulous."

"Can't wait to hear it," Sheppard was still stifling his laugh at Mitchell. "Though I think Ronan here could probably drink you under the table."

Vala was frowning at Ronan. "I doubt that. And I've never quite understood that phrase. If I am drinking, why would I be doing so underneath the table. I for one usually enjoy being on top of the tables."

Cam choked on his drink at this. "Nice imagery, Vala."

She looked genuinely confused. "What? Well it's certainly more comfortable to drink whilst on a table than whilst under one, wouldn't you agree?"

He waved a hand at her. "Nevermind. Have you checked with Landry to make sure he hasn't revoked your offbase privileges?"

She shook her head, biting her lower lip. "I supposed I should do that..." She was a little reluctant to face the General right now, as he was not her biggest fan what with the incident with her people and her behavior while in the infirmary.

Daniel could see that she was torn and could guess as to the reason. He gave a soft smile as their eyes met. "You can have Walter check. He should know."

She gave him an appreciative grin before standing up. "Well I'd better hurry. I still need time to get ready!"

"It's only 13:00, Vala," Sheppard pointed out with a glance to his watch.

The corners of her mouth pulled down at this. "Less time than I thought! I'll see you later, John, Ronan!"

Daniel watched her jog happily out of the commissary, relieved to see her with a genuine smile but also worried about the company she would be keeping tonight. He seriously thought about joining them, but witnessing their interactions already made him more than a little uncomfortable, so he wasn't sure he could take an entire night of that. Couple that with karaoke and a bar, both of which he was not a big fan of, and he decided he would much rather be in his office getting some work done. He cleared his throat, stealing a glance at Cam before addressing Sheppard. "About tonight..."

"Change your mind?" Colonel Sheppard asked.

"No," Daniel drug out the word, trying to be tactful. "Look, Vala is in a very vulnerable place right now. So I'm not sure going out tonight would be the best idea."

"Jackson!" Cam jumped in before Sheppard could respond. "Vala will be fine. She's in good hands." He turned back to Sheppard and Ronan. "Look, he's just a little twitchy at the idea of our girl going offbase with anyone but SG1 because of the Trust."

"What's the Trust?" Ronan asked.

"Bad guys," Sheppard answered simply. "And what do they want with Vala?"

"Well, being a former goa'uld she still has some of the memory as her time as host, which they find to be pretty valuable," Daniel explained.

"I'm sorry," John leaned forward slightly, "did you just say former goa'uld?"

"Yes," Daniel locked eyes with the man. "so you can imagine what she's already been through. Couple that with what she's had to face in the past week--"

"And a night out sounds really good," Cam interrupted. "Sounds like just what she needs and I'm sure you guys will take good care of her."

Ronan was looking back and forth between Daniel and Sheppard with a knowing look, then gave a grunt as he focused on his friend. "You sure you want me to come along? Maybe it might be better if it was just the two of you."

The look on Daniel's face at this suggestion was not lost on Sheppard. "No, I think you should come. Dr. Jackson is right. She's got enough on her plate right now, so I think the more friends the better. Would you agree, Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel ran a hand over his face, turning to face Cam, who was giving him a look of warning. "I'm sure it will be fine," he forced out, though he wasn't really sure he believed it himself.

"Good, then it's all settled. If you guys change your mind, let us know." Sheppard signaled to Ronan with his eyes. "We should get back. I wanted to discuss some stuff with Woolsey before the meeting starts back up."

Ronan gave a grunt of acknowledgment and a look that called Sheppard on his bullshit, but followed.

Daniel wasted no time in turning on Cam once the two men were out of earshot. "Thanks for backing me up, Cam! Do you really think this is a good idea? After all she's been through? You saw her yesterday!"

"Yes I did," Cam tightened his fist, "which is why I think she could use some time to unwind and just get her mind off of everything going on. Between Amotis coming through yesterday and the Tok'ra being here today, she's constantly being reminded of what she's gone through. I think Sheppard can show her a good time, which I think she needs right about now. And hey, if you aren't gonna step up to the plate then you can't expect someone else not to."

He balked at this, rearing his head back to look at his colleague. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The colonel stood up, looking down on his friend as he picked up his tray. "You know exactly what that means, Jackson. Either step up, or deal with it when someone else does."

Daniel watched the leader of SG1 leave the table, wrinkling his forehead as he thought over his words. Did Mitchell think he was jealous of Sheppard? Yea right! He was just trying to look out for Vala. The man had a reputation spanning two galaxies for being a heartbreaker, and getting her heart broken would be the last thing Vala needed right now. That was it. He had no reason to be jealous, he told himself. And just what plate was Mitchell insinuating he should step up to?

"Please," he said aloud as he rolled his eyes. He was definitely not going there with Vala. Getting his heart broken would be the last thing _he_ needed now too. _Not that she could_, he quickly added to himself.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Vala was seated on a bar stool near the pool tables, pretending to people watch as Ronan played a game with one of the locals and Colonel Sheppard made small talk with her. She was nursing a beer, her glum mood calling for that more than her usual preference of fruity cocktails. She had been smiling and nodding at the appropriate times with Sheppard, but found herself lost in thought as she watched a young couple who seemed to be quite in love on the dance floor. They were swaying slowly to the music, both smiling into the other's eyes. She smiled weakly, the memory of her engagement celebration forcing itself to the forefront of her mind's eye as she watched the young couple.

_"You know," Amotis began as he took her hand and guided her to the middle of the floor, "there are those that are questioning our engagement."_

_Vala frowned at this. "They think I'm like my father."_

_He shook his head. "No, but they are questioning just how sound of mind you could be if you said yes to an ordinary man like me."_

_Her lips pulled into a smile. "Should I be looking for someone less than ordinary?"_

_"Extraordinary," he corrected, his eyes turning serious as he pulled her into his embrace and they began to sway to the music the band was playing. "How did I become so very blessed? That such an amazing and beautiful woman should love me?"_

_"I guess you're just lucky," she quipped. She placed a soft hand on his cheek. "It is I who is lucky to have found you."_

_He leaned in, his soft lips touching hers in a gentle kiss that seemed to cause the world to stop. Vala found herself lost in his arms, unaware of the chaos that was closing in on them until the screams reached her ears and broke the happy bubble that had enveloped her._

"Look at him," Sheppard gestured with his beer to his colleague as he took yet another impossible shot. "Can you believe he just started playing this game last week?" A quick glance told him that Vala was off in another world. "Vala?"

Vala stirred herself from her thoughts with a shake of her head. She plastered on a wide smile and turned back to the colonel. "Yes?"

His eyes scanned her face with concern. "Are you okay?" He paused as she nodded, her eyes shifting to the floor as she did so. He lifted his finger to her cheek, wiping away the lone tear that had escaped her eye. "Are you sure? Cause usually crying means not okay."

She covered her face with both hands, which stifled the scream of frustration she let out. She dropped them back onto her lap, looking up at the fluorescent lights of the bar. "Bad memory, that's all. Maybe this was a bad idea. I'm taking away all your fun."

"Nonsense," John replied as he placed his beer on the bar behind them and stood up. He took her hand in his, pulling her to her feet. "You know what I find usually helps a bad memory?" He waited for her to shake her head, her wide vulnerable eyes seeming to beg for him to have a real solution to help her forget. "I'm no shrink, but I usually find replacing it with a good one helps." He gave her a lopsided grin as he led her to the dance floor, where her attention had been focused before. "Dancing any different where you come from?"

She shook her head, biting her lip nervously. "Well, some of the faster songs I'm not familiar with. Though Sam and I did once do the 'Cha Cha Slide'."

"Can't say I'm familiar with that one," Sheppard remarked as he placed a hand on her waist. "But I would have paid money to see it."

Vala smiled genuinely as she allowed him to change the position of their connected hands and then placed her other one on his shoulder. "Thank you, Colonel Sheppard."

"You can call me John." He shrugged slightly. "We're friends, right?"

Her smile widened at this as she nodded. She couldn't help but take stock of her life as it is now and be thankful for those around her, especially after being reminded of how her life was then. Her mind drifted back to her last encounter with Amotis and the words she had heard Daniel speak. He and Cam both had been so quick to jump to her defense. She found herself frowning, remembering how remorseless Amotis had been concerning the death of her mother. She closed her eyes, fighting off the memories of that night.

_Vala had been curled in a ball in her cell. The Jaffa had bathed her, forcing her to wear an elegant dress that was almost completely sheer and cut in such a way that it barely covered her breasts. She was freezing and terrified. The woman with the glowing eyes had given her such a sinister look when she was chosen to be taken here. She had been told it was an honor to be handpicked by the gods, but she knew from stories that these beings were not gods. There were lands that thought of them as such and that worshipped them even though these gods enslaved them. But she knew from her travels with her father that there were also lands that thought them to be something other than gods. Sometimes demons. Others referred to them as goa'ulds, though she wasn't exactly sure what that meant. _

_She started as she heard footsteps rushing down the hall to her cell. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her grey haired mother rounding the corner. Always resourceful, her mother had the keys in hand and a cloak in the other._

_"Come child, we do not have much time," she hissed as she opened the cell door._

_Vala threw herself into her mother's arms, letting out a sob as she did so. She straightened, knowing from experience running from the thieves that her father had swindled that her mother would need her to be strong now. She wrapped the cloak around herself, took her mother's hand, and they both raced off into the night. They had made it to the tree line near the chappa'ai when the sound of a staff blast reached her ears and she felt her mother's hand slip out of hers. _

Her own scream still echoed in her ears as she saw her mother drop to the ground, the Jaffa closing in behind them. It was only after she was taken as host to Qetesh that she had learned that her mother had been healed of her wound, Qetesh opting to use her public execution as an example to the others and as another way to torture her host.

John's strong hand was on the back of her head, easing it onto his shoulder as he pulled her into a tighter embrace. She tried to shake her head, but stopped when he softly shushed her.

"As far as I'm concerned, we're just dancing. And we'll dance as long as you need to," he whispered in her ear, his hand stroking her hair as she nodded.

Her shoulders sagged as she leaned into him, accepting the covert comfort he was offering her. It felt good to just have someone hold her, even though it felt a little off. Deep down she knew the reason for that and knew that it was beyond time for her to let go of that fantasy.

Sheppard slowly turned them in circles, guiding them around a small corner of the dance floor even when the tempo of the next song changed to one slightly faster. As another slow song started, he felt eyes on him. He looked up to the door to see Dr. Jackson frowning next to Teal'c, who was looking at Sheppard with suspicion. _Man,_ Sheppard thought to himself,_ they really are protective of her._ He could understand that sentiment, as he was the same way with Teyla. He could tell that their appearance was not a social one as Daniel's eyes met his. He looked regretful, like he was bringing some bad news.

He gave the back of Vala's neck a squeeze as he leaned into her ear. "Looks like Dr. Jackson decided to join us after all."

Vala lifted her head off of John's shoulder, turning her head to the door. Her eyebrows pulled down as she spotted Daniel and Teal'c. "Why do I get the feeling they aren't here for the beer?"

"That was my thinking too." Sheppard lifted a hand from her waist to wave Daniel over. "It looks like Dr. Jackson wants to talk to you," he noted as Daniel began weaving his way through the crowd.

"Probably wants to make sure I haven't stolen his place on Atlantis," Vala mumbled as she turned back to Sheppard, who was giving her a puzzled look. "What? I could if I wanted to, you know. I'm fairly well versed in Ancient, thanks to him."

"Vala," Sheppard began slowly, "Dr. Jackson has turned down every position offered to him concerning Atlantis." He nodded his agreement at her shocked face. "We were pretty surprised, too. We always thought he was dying to get there. Seems there's something holding him back now. I'm starting to see what it is," he added quickly as the man in question approached. "Daniel! Perfect timing! You see, I promised Vala I would dance with her but I'm getting a bit of a cramp. Mind taking my place?"

Daniel swallowed hard at this, never being much of a dancer. "Umm, actually I was hoping I could talk to Vala alone."

"Now see," Sheppard argued, "you might have to wait on that if you aren't going to dance. Cause like I said, I promised her a dance."

"John it's okay--" Vala started.

"Fine," Daniel practically growled. Who the hell did Sheppard think he was exactly? He can't tell him when he can have access to Vala!

"Okaaaay," she turned with wide eyes to Daniel. "Shall we then?"

Daniel practically yanked her out of the colonel's arms and into his, not able to resist giving the back of the man's head a dirty look as he walked away.

"Well, that was very caveman-esque," Vala quipped as she ducked her head into his eyeline so as to catch his attention.

He felt his face flush as he realized the close proximity in which they were dancing. "Sorry, Sheppard and I haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye today."

"You mean concerning access to Atlantis? Is that why you're here?" she asked curiously.

"No," he answered hesitantly, remembering the real reason he was here.

After getting no further response, she went on. "Well I know you aren't here for a social visit, Daniel, so just spit it out already. The world needs saving somehow and you desperately need my expertise, am I correct?"

"Kind of," he admitted reluctantly before sighing at the now concerned eyes she was looking at him with. "SG14 didn't check in as scheduled. We received a message from Amotis about an hour ago. They're holding them hostage until we return you."

She tried to hide her emotions as she forced a shrug and a smile. "Is that all? Let's go then." She started to turn to the door, but he pulled her back into his arms. "Daniel, I hardly think now is the time for romancing. There's an SG team to save!"

"Vala," he lowered his head, his somber eyes locking into hers. "We aren't going back there. General Landry needs your knowledge of the land so we can launch a rescue mission. One that doesn't include you."

"He doesn't trust me," she retorted flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He doesn't trust them," Daniel corrected. "They're pretty eager to get you back, and unless there's something more that you need to tell us, then it's probably not for a good reason." He placed his hands on her arms, giving them a squeeze of reassurance. "But we aren't going to let that happen. I promise."

Vala nodded her head, though her gut told her this rescue mission was a bad idea. She knew her people and how determined they could be. If they thought for a moment that the Tau'ri weren't going to give into their demands, they would not hesitate in killing SG14 and any other team that came through the gate without Vala in tow.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

The briefing room at the SGC was full of personnel. Walter was in and out relaying messages and information to General Landry, who was keeping a wary eye on the president as he paced the room. This hostage situation couldn't have come at a worse time. Now not only were the President of the United States and the IOA insistent on being involved in planning the rescue of SG14, but the Tok'ra had pushed their way in as well. It was hard enough to get anything done around here with all the red tape they constantly had to battle, but now they couldn't even mount a rescue mission without intergalactic politics coming into play.

"Colonel Mitchell," General Landry asked from his post at the head of the table, "how heavily armed were these people? How much resistance can we expect to meet if we go through the gate?"

Cam blew out a breath before answering. "I'm not sure, sir. Fact of the matter is, these people are a little too complacent with the idea of the Lucian Alliance taking over their planet."

"You think it's a trap set by the Lucian Alliance?" Mr. Coolidge of the IOA asked.

"I think their weapons choices were a tad bit inconsistent," the colonel answered carefully. "They attacked us with zats and I saw a few staff weapons, too. But when the people were gathering in the town square to execute Vala, they were armed with baskets of stones. It just doesn't match. And I think they're a little too keen on getting Vala back within throwing range."

"Still, it seems like the best course of action," another IOA delegate offered. "It is the path of least resistance, it would seem."

"You obviously don't know Vala that well," Mitchell muttered underneath his breath, imagining how it would be to drag her back there quite literally kicking and screaming. "And after all those people put her through, I don't think it's a good idea to send her back there, no matter how many parties they are talking about throwing her."

"Hank," President Hayes spoke up from his position at the window overlooking the embarkation room, "remind me again of who this Vala is? Isn't she the one who gave birth to last big bad we encountered? The Ori?"

"The Orici," Landry corrected. "Though I wouldn't exactly say she volunteered for the job, if you know what I mean."

The President's forehead wrinkled as he approached the other side of the table. "And isn't she the one who used to be a goa'uld?"

"Yes," Mitchell answered without a thought. "Sorry sir. I just meant to stress the point that it was while playing host to that goa'uld that these people suffered at what they see to be her hands. Which is why it's a bad idea to send her back. They nearly killed her last time she was there."

"I'm inclined to agree with you, son," the president concurred. "I think she's been through enough and done enough for us. Poor thing," he added with a shake of his head.

"So what plan of attack should we take then?" Landry turned his attention to Colonel Carter, who was at his side. "How long will it take a ship to get there?"

Sam sucked in a breath between her teeth as she shook her head. "Judging by the coordinates Cam gave us, I'd say it would take at least four days from Earth. The Odyssey might be able to get there in two."

The general turned back to Mitchell. "I'm inclined to agree that this smells like a trap from the Lucian Alliance, Colonel. They'd probably be waiting for us on the other side of the gate. Which means the Odyssey might be our best bet."

"It won't work," Vala spoke up from the doorway she had draped herself across.

"Vala, thank you for joining us on such short notice," Landry gestured to the seat at the end of the table. "Please feel free to elaborate."

"If you give them two days, they will kill your people, General," Vala stated bluntly from the doorway. She gestured for Daniel, Teal'c, Ronon, and John to go around her. "These people are not to be trifled with. If they think you are holding me against my will—which from what Daniel tells me they still do—then they will strike out against you. They will fight to get what they want. They're nothing if not determined. And quite resourceful."

Landry spread his hands out palm up in question. "What would you have us do? Seeing as how what they want is you."

She pushed herself away from the door and sauntered over to the table as she responded, "I suggest I go back there and get your people. Waving my normal fees, of course," she threw in with a wink.

"Out of the question," the Tok'ra representative barked out as she stood up.

Vala threw a glance in the female's direction. "Hello Astrild. Still interfering in my affairs, I see."

Astrild walked around the table to stand in front of Vala, the shift in her voice indicating that the host was now speaking. "If by interfering in your affairs you mean once again saving your life, then yes, I am." She smiled genuinely at the woman before her. "It is good to see you well. Perhaps we can all find a way to rescue SG14 while keeping you that way."

Vala sighed, lowering her shoulders. "It's not the same as it was before, Elonna." She patted her arm. "I'll be fine. Right guys?" She turned to her teammates with a broad grin, expecting them to back her up. Instead, each man merely shook his head at her as she turned to each of them, her smile fading more with each one. "What? You're just going to let me go alone?"

"I'm afraid no one is letting you go at all," Landry interjected. "The President has already made his feelings on the subject known. And he feels it is unwise for us to send you back into the hands of the people who have already tried to kill you."

She narrowed her eyes, planting a hand on her hip as she stared the general down. "Well, you can tell your president that I can take care of myself and don't need his concern."

President Hayes took a step forward, a smug smile on his face. "You just did. I am President Hayes, Miss Mal Doran." He held his hand out to shake hers, dropping it as she looked at it in question. "It's a handshake, a greeting."

She lifted a brow. "I know what it is. But you aren't _my_ president seeing as how you have yet to make _me_ a citizen of these United States, regardless of how many times _I_ have played an important role of saving _your_ hides. Which, since you are here, perhaps we can discuss that…"

Daniel was already at her side, pulling her away from the president when he lifted a hand to stop him. "It's quite alright, Dr. Jackson. Unfortunately, we haven't exactly found a way to explain illegal aliens from another planet, let alone have the government argue about whether or not to make them legal and how. Your efforts have been noted and appreciated, Miss Mal Doran. Which is why we will not be requiring your services in this mission."

"What?" She jerked away from Daniel, looking back and forth between the President and the General. "You need me! The only possible way to retrieve SG14 is to meet their demands in a timely fashion before they feel the need to take action."

"And if it's a trap?" Mitchell asked through clenched teeth. "Have you even stopped for a second to think about that, Vala? You know the Lucian Alliance has had a price on our heads for a hot minute. Don't you think they could be behind this?"

Vala frowned. "It's possible. But either way, we still have to go get SG14 and a ship will take too long. Since when have we turned our backs on a team?" She whipped around to Daniel. "Aren't you always the one saying 'we don't leave anyone behind'?"

Daniel flexed his jaw. "We aren't leaving them behind, Vala. But we aren't going to sacrifice you for them, either. We just need to think of another option."

"Look around, Daniel! We don't have any other options!" she pressed, the volume of her voice rising with her frustrations. "If you send a team through the gate, they will be ambushed! If you send a ship, it will take too long! The only option that doesn't end in bloodshed is for me to go back there."

Daniel took the few steps separating them until they were inches apart. "And why do you think they want that so bad? Hmm?"

She gave a weak smile, her eyes trying to convey to him that she was willing to take the risk. "To throw me a party, of course. Just like Amotis said in the transmission with SG14." She swallowed hard, not really believing the words even as she spoke them. "It's the best plan we have, Daniel. There's no other way. Surely you must all see that."

Colonel Sheppard cleared his throat from the position in the back of the room he and Ronon had taken. "Um, why don't we go get them, sir? With the puddle jumpers?"

Vala scrunched up her mouth in mock consideration. "Except for that way, of course."

Daniel's shoulders sagged with relief. "That sounds like a really good plan, actually. The puddle jumpers have cloaking, so even if there is an ambush waiting, they wouldn't be able to see them to shoot at them."

Mitchell leaned forward. "We can dial them up first, then lower the jumpers down and send them through."

"And what are you planning to do when you get there, Colonel Sheppard?" Vala asked as she turned on the man. "Shoot up the place until they turn over SG14 to you?" She cut her eyes back to Daniel, pleading with him to help her. "Don't you think enough bloodshed has occurred on that planet because of me?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but Sheppard was already turning Vala around to face him. "I promise you that we will do our best not to hurt anyone. We'll go in, show them we have more firepower than them, and hopefully they surrender and release SG14."

"And if they don't?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

He stifled a sigh as he answered. "Well, hopefully it won't come to that."

"They've chosen their path, Vala," Daniel added. "You can't be blamed for any of this." He frowned, seeing the doubt and guilt in her eyes before she turned back to Sheppard.

"I don't suppose you'd let me come with you?"

He cut his eyes to the General, who shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Well," Vala tried to swallow past the emotion rising in her throat, "as my services are apparently no longer needed, I'll wish you luck and leave you to your planning." She gave a nod to Sheppard and Ronon before turning on her heel and leaving the room.

Daniel made to go after her, but Elonna's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Give her time, Dr. Jackson."

"Daniel," he corrected automatically. He took a long look at the Tok'ra before him. "So you're the one who saved Vala after she was freed from the goa'uld?"

Elonna nodded slowly, and then looked around the busy room. "Perhaps we can discuss this in private? I do not believe it would be Vala's wishes for so many of her friends to know of her darkest times."

Daniel gestured for her to lead the way and followed her to the elevator. "Why tell me? If you think Vala wouldn't want her friends to know?"

"Because I fear she will continue to press the issue of her return," she explained. "Almost fifteen of your years ago, Vala was taken to a Tok'ra base to be freed of the goa'uld Qetesh. It is…a difficult process for the host. There is much recovery time."

He couldn't help but be intrigued. "Yes, she's mentioned that before."

"Often times, the host is unable to make a full recovery. The horrors that they endured as their time as host quickly becomes too much for their minds to bare." She tilted her head in consideration. "Some go on to become Tok'ra hosts, but often times even we cannot heal the damage done by the goa'uld to their minds. When Vala was released from Qetesh, the process was a much cruder form of the one you witness with Ba'al. We were still developing the techniques at that time."

Daniel gave a humorless smile. "So Vala was more like a lab rat to the Tok'ra? Why am I not surprised?"

Astrild took over as she rounded on Daniel. "Not at all. Vala was a ray of hope for those who were held prisoner in their own minds. Hers was strong. She showed much promise."

"So she made a quick recovery?" he asked.

"Quicker than most," the Tok'ra responded as she began walking again. "After some time, she became ready to be reintegrated back into society. As a scientist working on the symbiote removal project, I was sent to observe her."

"In her home world," he added for clarification. "Which didn't go so well, from what I've gathered."

Astrild lowered her head, signifying the change back to Elonna. "We were told not to interfere in any way, but we could not stand by while such an injustice took place. So we freed her."

He could see the haunted look in Elonna's eyes. She looked almost regretful. "What aren't you telling me?"

"The damage was already done. Vala is a very strong woman. Stronger now because of how broken she was at that time."

"Well, they did almost kill her from what she's said."

"Yes, but I speak of her emotions, Daniel." She stopped, turning to face him. "I tell you this so you may see how vital it is that she not be allowed to return to her homeworld. Tell me, Dr. Jackson, did she ever tell you of how many times she had tried to return there while in my care?"

He couldn't hide his shock as his jaw dropped. "Umm, no. Why would she try to go back? They were going to kill her. They would have if you hadn't intervened."

"She tried on many occasions to return so that they might succeed in taking her life." She looked saddened as she continued. "She felt that she deserved the punishments they sought to give her. I believe there is still a part of her that feels guilt over the crimes Qetesh committed while inhabiting her body. While I am not certain that her reasons are the same, I fear that she may be trying to prove something to herself by returning to rescue others. Perhaps she is seeking retribution."

Daniel didn't doubt the Tok'ra's words. He thought back to the time they had gone to the planet where Vala was put on trial for supposedly killing the pregnant woman she had been trying to aid. Once she had been made to believe that she had indeed killed this woman, though it would have been an accident if true, she was ready to receive her punishment. She had given up, the guilt of taking those lives overwhelming her.

"I'll keep that in mind, but please don't worry. We have no intention of sending her back there." His blue eyes held promise as he turned the full force of them onto the Tok'ra before him, ducking his head to become level with hers. "We won't let anything happen to her, I promise you."

Elonna smiled at him. "I can see that you care deeply for her, so I trust you will. Thank you, Dr. Jackson. I have had many encounters with Vala since her time as host, and have never witnessed such happiness in her. It seems she has finally found her place amongst the Tau'ri."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"General, I must protest your plan to use the puddle jumpers to rescue SG14," Vala tried to sound stern, but at the warning glare of Landry she quickly added, "Respectfully protest, of course." Her demeanor melted slightly as she took the seat across from him in his office. "It can only end in bloodshed. My people will see it as an act of aggression. They will try to fight. Should we not attempt the most peaceful rescue possible?"

Landry folded his hands in front of him, feeling a great empathy for Vala as her vulnerable round eyes begged him to reconsider. "Vala, these people are the ones acting aggressively. Their actions classify them as what we call terrorists. And we do not negotiate with terrorists."

"But they aren't trying to cause terror, General! They're just trying to get one of their own people home. Surely the position they have put you in allows you to understand where they are coming from."

He lifted his salt and pepper brows with exaggerated disbelief. "You really expect me to believe they are holding my people hostage just so they can throw you a nice dinner to welcome you home?"

Her shoulders sagged, knowing he had her. "I expect you to realize that they will take action once they see your actions to be hostile, which will further jeopardize the lives of your team."

"Have you witnessed this sort of behavior from them before? What makes you so sure they'll strike back once they see they are outgunned?"

She gave a withered smile. "You know of my father's sordid history. He sought refuge with Mother and I quite often before leaving again to conduct more of his illicit business elsewhere." Her eyes drifted to the floor with a sigh as she continued. "He would leave us without protection, and inevitably, there were those that he swindled that would search us out for their revenge. Mother tired of running. She tired of the way he would steal me away to use me in his schemes as well. So she sought refuge in the planet where I was born. Kasina. She sought sanctuary there because she was well aware of their customs. They were a very protective bunch. Very resourceful as well. It was only through her mercy that they did not put my father to death after learning of his crimes when he finally found us. She knew we would be safe there because they were somewhat barbaric when it came to their laws and to protecting their lands. Of course she had not factored in the goa'uld at the time, but then again they were a threat in most lands." Her eyes lifted back to his. "So you see, they will continue to fight you until I am returned to them. They might be outgunned, as you say, but they are resourceful. They will find a way. Which is why I have to go back now before it comes to that. Please don't ask me to stand by and watch as more of my people are senselessly slaughtered because of me."

"We will do our best not to let it come to that, Vala. But knowing their possible intentions and the possibility of the Lucian Alliance being involved, I cannot allow you or SG1 to go back there to rescue SG14. We're going to use the puddle jumpers. It's the best course of action."

She rose to her feet, her determined chin held high. "Then I officially and respectfully resign my position as a member of Stargate Command and request to be returned to another world through the Stargate."

General Landry rose to his feet, eyes ablaze. "Request denied, Miss Mal Doran. I don't take ultimatums very well, so you might want to rethink your position. I'll give you the time to do so. _Dismissed_."

Vala knew from the tone of his voice that there would be no discussing this. She took in a deep breath to gather the willpower not to try to argue with him any further, then took her leave. As soon as she was out of his range, she began storming through the hallways of the SGC, uncertain of where she was heading but just feeling like she needed to get out of this place. She was beyond tired of being told how to deal with her own people. She was not incompetent and was certainly not incapable of dealing with them!

She couldn't understand why they were so adamant to keep her away from them. Yes, they did try to kill her both while she was host to Qetesh and after she was freed. But Adria had proved to be a formidable foe when they messed with her memories and sent her in as bait to capture the Orici. How was this any different? Why should she be forced to hide behind the protection of the Tau'ri now?

She stopped long enough to kick the wall near her and shoot a glare at a nearby SF who had witnessed it. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the offending wall. She hated feeling powerless. And she hated being made to feel like a victim. She opened her eyes, staring at the fluorescent lights lining the hallway. It's not like these people were wrong. They had suffered just as much as she had, some had suffered more.

She was stirred out of her thoughts as an angry voice called her name. She knew without looking that it was Daniel. No one could say her name with such venom like he could. "Yes, darling? Owe!" she cried out as he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into a nearby lab devoid of workers.

"Are you out of your mind?" he hissed.

Her innocent eyes rounded as she looked into his with question, unsure of what exactly she had done now. "You usually seem to believe so, yes."

He released her arm, swinging around so that he could pace away from her. "You try to resign with the IOA present? I mean, what were you thinking??"

"That I want to go home," she answered slowly and quietly.

He whipped back around, pointing a finger at her. "Don't! Do _not_ act like you don't have some other motivation here. This isn't about going home, Vala. You don't even consider that place home!"

"How would you know that, Daniel?" she shot back. "You and the rest of the SGC are too busy trying to play hero to find out what I really want! And I can assure you that I have no other motivations for wanting to return to _my home_. There are no treasures waiting there for me."

His eyes saddened as he took a step forward. "No, but there's most likely death."

"Well aren't you Mister Doom-and-Gloom all of the sudden! Been talking to my Tok'ra friends, I see."

He licked his lips, his gaze shifting down. "Yes, Elonna spoke to me," he admitted. "It doesn't change things. It doesn't change how I feel about you going back there."

"Obviously it does," she countered, "as you are usually the one arguing to give peace a chance! Normally you would be right there with Amotis encouraging me to go back!"

"No," he pressed, taking another step forward. "Not after what they did. I would never put you through that."

"Put me through _what_ exactly, Daniel? I am not some damsel in distress in need of your white knight!"

"White horse," he corrected automatically before shaking his head. "And I would never refer to you as a damsel in distress. I just think that maybe you are a little too emotionally charged to be able to see the danger that going back there would be."

She turned away from him, playing with some of the mechanical parts on the table near her. "It doesn't matter if I go back now or wait until they find me, Daniel."

He crossed the room to stand directly behind her, starting to place a hand on her shoulder but hesitating it. "We won't let that happen."

She forced a laugh out through the tears that were starting to form. "Of course not. You'll take every measure to prevent that from happening." She bit at her lip. "Do you know what happened after Astrild rescued me? Did she tell you?"

"She told me that you kept trying to go back. Why?" he asked softly.

She lifted a shoulder in what she hoped to be a nonchalant shrug. "They wanted their justice. I just wanted to go home. It made sense at the time." She paused, shaking her head. "But that's not what I'm referring to. I tried setting off on my own. For years, I would find bounty hunters looking for me. Or those who had heard that Qetesh had been over thrown and knew her by my face. They were all very eager to send me home. It was all I could do to survive then. You can imagine how blessed I felt when I came across worlds that still bowed down to me when I arrived through the gate. The point is, they kept looking for me. They had their allies and their trading partners looking for me. They had people all over. The same thing will happen now."

He gently turned her around to face him. "We won't let them, Vala. We'll keep you safe."

"Yes, I know. After encountering this a few times, your General and your IOA will take me off active duty. For my own safety. And then I'll either be locked here or in Area 51. I won't be allowed to integrate into Earth's society because the Trust is still assumed to be after me." Her troubled grey eyes lifted to match his. "Either way, I'll be a prisoner. Whether it's there or here. The latter being the most unacceptable option."

He opened his mouth to speak but was unable to find any words in any of the many languages he knew to bring her any comfort. He was only able to watch her shake her head and breeze out of the room. Truthfully, he was learning more about Vala now than in all the years they had worked side by side. And he knew that as overwhelming as it could be for him to learn these things, it was even more so for her to reveal them. He wanted to chase after her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he was starting to wonder if that was actually the case after the scenario she had painted for him.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Colonel Mitchell was just rounding the corner after getting geared up for the mission back to Kasina when he almost ran right into Vala. He knew that the wide eyed look of guilt he was most likely wearing wasn't going to help him with the line of questioning he knew she was about to fire at him, but he braced himself for it anyway.

She crossed her arms over her chest, sucking at the inside of her cheek as she inspected his outfit. "Do we have a mission that I haven't been informed of?"

"No," he replied, letting the word drag out. "I have a mission. Well, Teal'c and I do."

"Mmmhmmm, and what mission would that be? And why are Daniel and I not invited?"

He knew from her accusatory look that she was well aware of the answer and gave a low sigh. "Look, Teal'c and I have some experience with the Lucian Alliance, so we're tagging along with Sheppard and his team. You and Daniel are staying behind to help with the summit treaty thing the Tok'ra are here for."

She clapped her hands together once with a smile. "Well, as I have opted out of having anything to do with the summit, having had ill experiences with the Tok'ra that might interfere, it would appear that I am free to accompany you on this mission. I'll just go get my gear and we'll be on our way."

"_Vala_," Cam ground out. She had already skipped past him, so he turned around to face her. "You know you can't go. I know, you want to protect your people. I get it. But the fact is, they don't really seem all too keen with the idea of protecting you."

"This isn't right," she argued. "General Landry said SG1 couldn't go because it might be a trap set by the Lucian Alliance! _I'm_ not supposed to go because it might be a trap for me set by my people in order to exact their revenge on Qetesh. But here you are _going_ and here I am _still forced to stay behind_!"

"Oh, believe me, Landry's pretty pissed that we're going. But the IOA thinks it's best that at least part of SG1 go in case the Lucian Alliance is involved. And the president agrees." He clapped her on the arm. "It's going to be fine, Vala. We'll make sure no one gets hurt, get in there, get SG14, and come back. Easy as pie."

She hooked her thumbs through the belt loops of her black regulation pants as she nodded. "I just wish I could help."

He placed a hand on her back, leading her down the hall with him as he headed to the elevator. He was supposed to meet up with Sheppard and his crew on the surface so they could board the puddle jumpers. "I know, it's not easy being benched. But you'll be back in action in no time. We just need to get this mess sorted out first."

He gave her a reassuring smile as the elevator doors opened. "You should relax. Unwind. Maybe have a girls night since Carter's here. And your Tok'ra friend."

Vala raised a brow. "Not the most subtle way to ask me to put in a good word for you, but I suppose since you are cleaning up my mess it's the least I could do."

He gave her a wink as the elevator doors slid closed. He leaned his head back, watching the numbers as he slowly made his way to the surface of the complex. A glance down at his watch told him he was running a few minutes late for the rendez vous at the puddle jumpers. He had no doubt that Teal'c had already made his way there well before the allotted time they were supposed to meet.

Vala was still standing outside the elevator staring at the doors where Mitchell had left her. She was lost in thought and hating every second of it. She hated being inside her own head. It was generally not a pleasant place to be. She had vowed long ago to live for the "now" but was finding it quite hard when the "then" kept coming back to bite her in the ass.

"Going somewhere?" a friendly and familiar voice asked from behind her.

She turned around, a warm smile spreading across her face as she took in General O'Neill all decked out in his dress blues. "No, but you might be able to help me with that."

His dark brown eyes turned from friendly to wary. "Ohhh, I don't think so," he said in a sing song way as he shook his finger at her. "Do you have any idea what Daniel would do to me if I helped you get your little suicide mission okayed?"

She frowned, uncertain of why Daniel would be singled out. "What does Daniel have to do with this?"

"Nothing," he answered a little too quickly, doing his best to act innocently. "Doesn't matter, anyway. The President said no, Vala. That's about as far up the chain as we can go." He glanced down the hallway. "I was about to go watch them take off, if you want to join me."

"Watch as my teammates leave me behind to go deal with my people _and_ possibly the Lucian Alliance, both of which I have the most experience dealing with?" she asked, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Why not? Sounds like fun."

"Suit yourself," he responded as he began to walk away. "I just thought you might want to be there when they radio back to let us know what the situation is." He smirked to himself, feeling the holes her glare was without a doubt trying to burn into the back of his skull before hearing her rush to catch up with him. He cut his eyes to her, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Change your mind?"

"Shut up," she retorted hotly as she picked up the pace.

They arrived in the Control Room after a quiet and brisk walk there, Vala regretting very much that she had been open with Daniel or anyone else about her history with her people. Suddenly having a rough relationship with one's home planet was making her incapable in what seemed like everyone's eyes. She knew this wasn't going to go as planned. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach. This mission was going to go terribly wrong. She tried to hide her grimace as her stomach began to twist into knots.

Daniel was watching Vala carefully from his perch near Walter's station. She stood erect, though one arm was wrapped around her abdomen. He watched as the unstable vortex of the wormhole forming reflected in her grey eyes, which seemed heavier than usual. He pushed himself off of the desk and crossed the room to stand near her, giving her a gentle nudge with his shoulder.

"If you ask me if I am okay, I might kill you," she warned without even so much as glancing at him. Her eyes shifted to Walter as he gave Puddle Jumper 1 the go ahead to lower itself into the gate room from the opening above the gate, then glanced up as if she could see the aircraft coming regardless of the many stories of concrete blocking her view.

"Isn't that just cool?" Jack asked no one in particular with a childish grin as the first puddle jumper went through the gate. "I think that's pretty cool."

Vala couldn't help but smile at the General's enthusiasm for new military toys that were now within his grasp instead of millions of light years away in another galaxy. Her demeanor switched back to serious as she heard the crackle of the comms coming to life on the other side of the gate.

Daniel noticed Vala's fingers turning white as they dug into her arm, though from the look on her face he could tell that she most likely hadn't noticed. Taking a glance around the room, he moved in closer, placing his arm across her back, blocking everyone's view as he discretely pried her fingers from her arm. Her eyebrows flickered up for a moment, before settling back as she seemed to realize what he was doing. She gave him an appreciate look before turning her attention back to the monitors in front of Walter.

"Stargate Command, this is Puddle Jumper 1, do you copy?" Sheppard's voice asked through the radio.

"This is Landry. Go ahead, Puddle Jumper 1."

"Yea," the Colonel dragged out the word, "umm, it looks like we can confirm the Lucian Alliance's involvement."

"Already?" the General asked with uncertainty.

"Yes sir," Colonel Mitchell's voice answered. "They're definitely here. And they brought ships."

Daniel squeezed Vala's shoulder, halting her as she made to take a step forward.

"We'd like to do some more aerial recon and then see if we can't proceed on foot," Mitchell continued. "Teal'c and I remember the layout of the town and where they kept us when we were captured. If they're keeping SG14 in the same place, we might be able to break them out before these people even know we're here."

Landry shook his head, throwing a quick glance to Jack, who merely gave a shrug. "Be careful, Colonel Mitchell. I think it's safe to say they've been waiting for your arrival."

"Yup, looks like Vala wasn't the target after all. She was just the bait," he agreed. "We've got the element of surprise, sir."

"Very well." The General looked to his watch before continuing. "You've got until 20:00 hours to check in or we're coming for you. The Odyssey is already on route as back up."

"Good to know, sir," Cam responded. "We'll keep you posted. Mitchell out."


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One**

The rescue team proceeded cautiously through the woods surrounding the village, scouting for the easiest way in--the path of least resistance as Mitchell liked to call it. He was heading up the front of the line, with Teyla and Sheppard right behind him and Ronon and Teal'c taking up the rear. They had managed to land the puddle jumper about ten clicks west of the Stargate, not too far outside of the outskirts of the village. After a quick orbit of the planet and scan of the area around the village, they had only managed to find three al'keshes, though others could very well be cloaked.

"Have to say," Mitchell whispered to the rest of the team, "I sure am missing those Sudan cloaking things right about now. I don't like being out in the open like this. Skin on the back of my neck's prickling like we're being watched."

"There is no visible sign of enemies approaching," Teal'c stated flatly as he continued to scan the area.

"What is this Sudan cloaking you speak of?" Teyla asked.

"It's a device that can basically shift the person wearing it into another dimension," Sheppard responded, then shrugged at Mitchell's unspoken question. "What? SG1 mission reports have always been a good read."

The other colonel couldn't argue with that, having found those of past and present to be his favorite way to expend his downtime on base.

"So why can't we use them?" Ronon asked bluntly.

"The device emits a sort of radiation that creates this creature thing, or brings it over into our dimension, I dunno," Mitchell tried to explain. "The little bugger wreaked havoc on some of the other worlds. Though I can't say I'd be too heartbroken to see it go to town on these people."

"Surely not all of the people on this planet are responsible for the way your teammate was treated, Colonel Mitchell," Teyla gently chided.

"What they did to her was barbaric." He threw a glance back to Ronon. "No offense."

Ronon cocked his head, his eyes lowering into a glare. "Why would I be offended by that?"

"No reason," Mitchell answered quickly before turning back to the area in front of him. "Okay, the area where they were holding us is dead ahead. Old musty building, looks like it might have been a storage house of some kind. I'm guessing there's gotta be a back entrance, or at least some windows, so we'll sneak around the back and see if we can't get in, zat anyone in our way, and then get SG14 out. Sound good?" He stopped as he noticed a puzzled look on Teyla's face as she stared at the ground near them. "What?"

Teyla's hand reached out and caught the round object as it rolled to a halt near them. She lifted it up, examining it. "Colonel Mitchell, what is this?"

"Oh shit!" Mitchell's eyes widened as he recognized the goa'uld stunning device in her hand. He quickly grabbed it from her, throwing it up in the air but the device went off a few feet above their heads, the white light of the stunning technology engulfing them as the world around the rescue team disappeared.

Mitchell could tell that he was flat on his back on a very hard and uncomfortable surface as he came to. He let out a low groan as he turned over onto his side, the palms of his hands pressing into his eyes. "I really hate it when that happens."

"As do I," Teal'c agreed from his position on the other side of their cell.

"I cannot see!"

Teyla's panicked voice reached Mitchell's ears and he tried to wave her off like his mother waking him up for school. "It wears off. Shepp, how you doing?"

"Colonel Sheppard and Ronon Dex are not with us," Teal'c announced.

Mitchell pulled himself up to sitting position as he gave a jerky shake of his head. "Where are they?"

"I do not know," the Jaffa responded darkly, glaring around at his surroundings.

The Colonel held up his hand as the sound of footsteps echoed through their cell. A man who looked to be about 60 years old who was wearing a long white robe came into their view.

"I am Gregar, one of the elders of Kasina," he stated flatly. "SG1, I presume?"

Mitchell cut his eyes quickly to Teyla, whose head was held proudly as if she too were a member of SG1. He silently applauded the Atlantis team member for not correcting the misconception as he stood up in front of the bars. "So, you're one of the guys in charge, huh? Glad to hear it! We've got a few things we need to straighten out."

"Why did you not bring your other female teammate with you?" the man asked with a sneer.

"You mean Vala?" Mitchell challenged, noting that Gregar couldn't even bring himself to say her name. He could almost see the name Qetesh at the tip of the man's tongue. "What do you care? I'm sure the Lucian Alliance will be happy with three out of five members of SG1."

"I do not concern myself with what the Lucian Alliance will be happy with or not, servant," he practically spat. "You will return to us what is ours."

The colonel casually draped his arms through one of the openings in the cell. "See, I don't think that's gonna happen. First of all, Vala doesn't belong to anyone. Second of all, she belongs with us. So, as long as you sound all mean like that, she's gonna stay with us." He shook his finger at the man. "I knew you guys didn't want to throw her a party or any of that other crap you kept claiming when you were demanding to get her back. You must not have snuck out much as a kid, huh? Next time, think of a better cover."

Anger flickered through the man's grey eyes. He quickly grasped Mitchell's wrist, yanking him forward so that his head smacked against the bars between them with a sharp clang. "Do not trifle with me, child. You will do as I say. If you do not, your friends in the other cell will be killed."


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

General Landry stood in the doorway to the Control Room, surveying the few staff members still bustling about. It was late. He should be home, as Carolyn had gently reminded him hours ago, but the rescue team was twelve hours overdue for their scheduled check in. He knew he wouldn't be able to rest until the team checked in or the Odyssey arrived in orbit around Kasina, whichever came first. A glance to the back of the room told him he was not alone in this sentiment. Vala was curled into one of the plastic chairs, her arms folded over her knees and acting as a pillow to her head. There was a look in her eyes that he had only seen glimpses of a few years ago when the Ori began attacking the galaxy. It was a look he was used to seeing in Dr. Jackson's eyes: that of the weight of the world on one's shoulders. His eyes bounced up to the doorway that the man in question was now filling, two coffee cups in hand. He watched the archeologist sigh as he knelt down beside his teammate, giving her a gentle shake and handing her one of the coffees.

"Maybe you should both get some sleep," Landry suggested.

Daniel almost looked amused that the general would suggest such an absurd thing as sleep when their teammates were out there. Vala merely shifted her eyes to the floor and shook her head, much like that of a child refusing to go to bed. Landry couldn't help but be amazed at the woman before him. When she had first arrived here at the SGC, she was little more than a child, at least concerning her state of mind. She was clever and cunning, but vulnerable and raw, only too prideful to let anyone see it. Looking at the way she interacted with Dr. Jackson, the general could see how the linguist had helped to lower those defenses and allow for her to grow. The Vala from so long ago would have been looking out only for number one, whereas the Vala now could hardly sleep for worry over those she cared about. He was about to push the issue when the sound of the gate moving interrupted him.

They all bounded over to the main computer, waiting impatiently for the wormhole to form and an IDC to appear onscreen.

"Receiving a radio transmission, audio and video," the SF manning the computer informed the General. At his commander's nod, he began pressing the keys. "Opening up a channel. We have a connection."

"General Landry," Colonel Mitchell's face appeared on the screen as his voice filled the room, which seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"Mitchell!" Vala demanded before the General could respond. "Where have you been?? We've been worried half to death!" She gave the commander of the SGC a sheepish look. "Sorry, go ahead General."

Landry managed to roll his eyes. "What she said, Colonel."

"Well," Cam drawled, "we ran into a little snag in the rescue mission." He cut his eyes around him. "We sort of got captured ourselves."

"Why would you do that?" Vala burst out as she leaned closer to the monitor.

"It's not like we did it on purpose, Vala." He paused as it appeared someone shoved him in the back with something. "Point is, we're going to be a bit delayed. No worries, we'll work it out though."

Daniel pulled Vala up by the collar of her BDU's before she could speak again. "What can we do to help, Cam?"

"Oh, they say that if you and Vala come through, they'll let us all go and if you don't, they'll kill us," he answered casually before waving his hand. "But I don't think they're serious. Besides, they just wanted me to say that. Well, they didn't say Daniel and Vala. They said Qetesh and her human servant, which I view as a bad sign. Don't worry, sir. We'll get ourselves out."

"Or, we could take their threats to have the credibility I know for a fact they do, and I could come through and rescue your sorry but fine behinds," Vala suggested before giving herself a congratulatory smile for such a brilliant idea. "I think my plan's the better bet. What do you think, General?"

Before Landry could respond, a gunshot echoed through the control room. All heads snapped back to the monitor, where Mitchell was now on the ground in full view, writhing in pain as he clasped his leg. Vala froze in shock as she watched her friend bleeding on the ground a million light years away. She paled as a grey haired man came into view.

"You will send Vala and her mate through or we will kill your people," he said in an informative voice, as if he was reciting a to do list.

Ignoring the fact that he had once again been mistaken for her lover, Daniel leaned forward. "Why? Why do you want Vala back so badly when she has already told Amotis that she doesn't want to return?"

"She must return," the man pressed. "For her mother's sake."

Vala took a shaky step forward, trying to battle back the hope that his statement lit up inside of her even though she had seen her mother's lifeless body countless times before Qetesh had bored of that form of torture for her host. "My Mother?"

"If she is to be laid to rest, it is custom that you must attend the Pax Pacis Requietum, as you well know," the elder responded. "Her last act in this world was to save you, and she must see you well in order to rest peacefully."

She knew of the mourning customs, though she had never partaken in them herself. "The children left behind sit inside a tent and eat foods prepared in memory of the life lost. Either their caregivers if they are still young or their significant others stay with them through the grieving to assure the spirit that they will be looked after," she explained to those around her. "After the rites, they are then laid to rest. They are kept in a tomb until this is possible."

"She is the last of our people lost to the demon to be given peace. You must be the one to bid her entrance there. You have until midday to respond before we kill this man." With that last warning, the wormhole disengaged.

She sighed deeply, turning to the General. "I would like to go."

"You believe him?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"Yes. And no. Either way, it's our only way. The Odyssey is still too far off." She cut a questioning glance to the General, who gave no argument. "If I go, I can buy some time. Give them time to get there and beam us all away."

Daniel blew out a breath as he watched the General consider this. "She's right. We might be able to buy some time, especially if I can talk to these people."

"We?" she whipped around to him. "You aren't going. You have to stay here and take care of the Tok'ra thingy."

"Oh yes I am. I'm your _mate_, remember?" he asked with a mocking tone. "I have to partake in the ritual as well."

"It does seem like you two are a package deal," Landry agreed. "And I think Dr. Jackson's diplomatic skills are better suited there than with the Summit at the moment. It looks like the sun was just rising there, so you head out in two hours." He turned full on to Vala. "And I am expecting you to not do anything stupid, am I understood? You are to stall until the Odyssey has enough time to get there, which should be in less than 18 hours." He paused for the woman to nod, though her grey eyes were already looking guilty. "I expect you to keep her in line, Dr. Jackson."

"As usual," Daniel muttered with a sigh, already exhausted at the idea of keeping Vala restrained when dealing with her people. "Let's go get geared up."


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Vala sat at the table inside the enclosure with Daniel, tapping her fingers against the table anxiously. She had played with her food mildly, but the way her stomach was rolling wouldn't allow for her to actually partake in any of the foods typical to that of a mourning dinner. She jumped to her feet when Gregar, one of the village elders, came in to check on them unexpectedly.

"I thought the mourning dinner was not supposed to be interrupted," she said coolly as she seated herself once more. Daniel's hand underneath the table had found hers and gave her fingers a light squeeze of reassurance.

"Forgive my intrusion," he bowed his head with respect even though his voice was filled with venom. "I was notified that you had not yet requested seconds, and felt I should make sure the food is to your liking."

She sighed, knowing how important this ritual was to some of the elders who prepared the meals. "The food is to our liking, Gregar. We're just slow eaters."

Daniel took a bite out of his potatoes and gave an exaggerated noise of approval to emphasize her point. "Tastes great."

"Very well. Please let us know if there is anything else you desire before the burial."

"Yes, about that," Vala queried. "When exactly is that going to be?"

"At sunrise," the elder responded.

"No, that won't do." She did her best to paint on a sweet smile, having fallen out of practice with deception since joining the SGC. Truthfully, it didn't matter when her mother was laid to rest so long as it bought the Odyssey more time to get here in case things went horribly wrong, which she was fairly certain was going to happen. "You see, Mother absolutely loved sunsets. I feel she will be better laid to rest at sunset. She was never a morning person."

"We must respect the wishes of Adria Mal Doran," Gregar conceded with a bow of his head before backing out of the tent.

Daniel was staring at Vala expectantly. "I thought Adria was your stepmother."

She rolled her eyes, remembering the conversation he was referring to. "Yes, well, I lied. Shocking, I'm sure."

He ignored the edge in her voice, compassion and curiosity overwhelming him. "Why would you lie to me about that? I mean, looking back on it, I should have realized it after finding out that Adria was a truth seer. She would have known you were lying to her."

She swallowed hard, swirling the vegetables on her plate around as she tried not to think about the reason she had lied to Daniel. She had known Adria was a weakness, but she hadn't wanted others to know. She didn't want anyone to know how much her daughter meant to her or how very intent she had been on saving her. "Does it really matter now?" she whispered.

He watched her carefully, knowing that this was one of those instances to where he shouldn't push her. She looked like she was barely holding it together now, so talking about her murderous, power hungry and now deceased daughter was probably not the best topic of conversation. "You should probably eat some of your food," he suggested softly.

She shook her head, pushing her plate away from her with a nauseated frown of disgust before crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not hungry."

Daniel took a few bites of his food in quick succession, then scooped some of hers off of her plate and onto his own. She shot him a quizzical look to which he shrugged in response. "It seems like eating is a big part of this custom. If you don't touch your food, they might find it insulting. We're treading thin ice with them as it is."

Vala nodded her agreement before rushing into an explanation. "I think I might be sick if I eat. I'm not trying to be obstinate."

His eyes lit up with genuine understanding. "I know. You're doing fine, Vala."

The corners of her mouth pulled up slightly, her eyes still heavy. "Thank you."

They sat in silence for what felt to her like an eternity, him slowly eating while she remained tense, eying the entrance to the enclosure tentatively as if any moment people were going to come rushing through intent on killing her. This was all going far too well to not be a trap. Mitchell had said in his transmission that the Lucian Alliance had made the mistake of convincing the Kasinans that they had to get Vala back as she was one of their own, but she hadn't believed that for a moment. She could see the way Gregar and the others looked at her. Even Amotis seemed to wear doubt in his expression when addressing her. A few had even fallen to their knees in fear as she and Daniel had been escorted through the outskirts of the village to the town square. She had cringed at the sight of the Ori altar that they had built when the Priors had ruled over them, wondering if instead of stoning or beating her to death they would opt to burn her instead. Much less bloody, far less time consuming. _Far more painful_, she added inwardly with a visible gulp. Her thoughts snapped back to reality as she watched Daniel remove her plate from before her and replace it with his now empty plate. She turned her body to face him, a puzzled frown clear across her features.

"Hungry, darling?"

"It's _really_ good," he smacked through a mouthful of food. "You really should try some," he suggested with intense enthusiasm.

Her eyes rounded as he shoveled the food into his mouth. "Daniel, are you alright?"

He let out a contented sigh after swallowing down the last bite, then leaned back, draping his arm across the back of her chair. His eyes narrowed at the questioning look she gave his arm. "What? Sheppard can put his arm around you, but I can't?"

Vala shook her head vigorously, as if she was in some sort of a confusing dream. "What?"

His fingers found a lock of her hair and began idly twirling it around his fingers. "Oh, don't think I haven't noticed."

She impatiently waited on him to finish his thought, still lost as to what on earth he was talking about. "Haven't noticed what?"

"You have very pretty hair," he slurred slightly, before giving her a lopsided grin. "He knows that too. I've noticed him noticing that."

"He who??" she asked in exasperation, bouncing her arms around in a frustrated gesture. "Daniel, I really think we should get you back to the gate. You don't seem well."

"Nope," he let the word pop in his mouth. "I'm pretty sure they drugged me."

Vala's eyes widened even further. "Oh, this is so bad."

He shrugged. "Notsobad. I feel great. Really relaxed." He pointed his finger at her before planting it on her nose. "And you're always telling me to loosen up."

She grasped his face in between her hands, forcing him to look her straight on. "Daniel, I need you to get it together. Quite possibly my only line of defense against these people is your brain, which they have now addled. I need you to focus."

He squinted his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he tried to will his mind to clear. "Is not me."

"What's not you?" she asked, her voice lined with panic.

His eyes popped back open, concern and adrenaline helping to wash away part of the drug's effects. "That they're after. It's you."

"We have to get you back to the gate," she started to stand up but his hand around her wrist yanked her back down to where she practically fell into his lap. "I hardly think this is the appropriate time, Daniel."

"You. You have to get to the gate." He shook his head as she opened her mouth to argue. "The drugs weren't meant for me. They were for you. I started feeling this way after I started eating your food."

She lifted her chin defiantly. "I won't leave you all here to die."

"They won't hurt us." He was shaking his head again, then placed both palms on either side of his skull as he tried to concentrate. "They would have killed Mitchell and Teal'c already if the Lucian Alliance didn't want us alive. You have to go get help."

"How can you be sure of that?"

"We're…" he scrunched his eyes closed as he struggled to find the words in his scrambled brain, gripping her arm as if he would be able to borrow her strength, "leverage! They'll use us to get you back. Which means you can go get help. Go!"

Her eyes were remorseful as she looked into his, knowing he was right. If she stayed, they were all dead. She was the only one who could get to the gate and radio for backup. She nodded firmly, giving the hand of his still clamped around her arm a squeeze. "I'll be back, I promise."

With that, she took off through the back of the tent, taking to the cover of the trees surrounding the village. She carefully and skillfully wove her way through the dark shade of the canopies above her, moving as fast as she could without notifying anyone to her location. The branches snagged at her uniform and pulled at her hair, some whipping across the skin of her hands and face but she never slowed. She finally reached the edge of the woods near the gate, scanning the area around it for any signs of a patrol. She couldn't see any, but that didn't mean that they weren't there. Knowing this was her only chance before Amotis and the others discovered her absence, she raced for the DHD and began to dial Earth. She heard the patrol approaching and paused, using her left hand to keep dialing as the other reached for the zat gun strapped to her leg. She pressed her palm to the symbol for the point of origin, then whipped around, taking a careful and quick aim at the front of the patrol as she opened fire and then jumped behind the DHD to take shelter from their return fire. She was shocked to hear the pop of guns similar to that of the P90 she usually carried. She leaned around the edge of the DHD long enough to let out another few blasts from her zat before ducking for cover once more.

"You are but one person with one gun, Qetesh," the familiar voice of the elder Gregar called out to her. "You have no Jaffa to defend you. You have no human servants to plead your case! Come out now and we shall spare their lives!"

She needed to get her hands on those guns, she thought to herself. Whoever held the guns held the power, and thus far their guns were able to do more damage quicker than hers. They were making a mistake, estimating her power to be in those that surrounded her. As long as they operated under the assumption that she couldn't defend herself without the aid of others, she would be able to take them by surprise if she was able to get close enough.

"Alright!" she called out. "I'm coming out now! Don't shoot!" She dropped her zat to the ground beside her and held her hands out, palm up. Her eyes narrowed as she saw that Amotis was with the crowd hunting her down. "Quite the brilliant performance you've been putting on, my love. You almost had me convinced that I could trust you."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "If you truly are Vala, then why would you run when your friends are in clear danger?"

She rolled her eyes as she slowly approached the gunmen next to Amotis. "Because I'm the only one _not_ too drugged or chained to go call for help."

"Lies!" Gregar spat out. "You run to save your own skin! Because we have weakened your power!"

She turned her hateful eyes to him. "Where was my power when I tried coming home all those years ago? I was unarmed and alone and you still tried to kill me. Having friends now does not prove anything." She cocked her head as she turned back to the gunmen. "Only that I'm stronger now than I was then."

She swung her leg around, knocking the gun from the man on the left's hand before ducking down and using the momentum of her swinging leg to knock the other man from his feet. She rolled forward, her hands clamping down on the gun before she came to her feet. She quickly used the butt of the it to knock out the first man, who was reaching for the other gun. She whipped it back around so that the barrel was aimed at the head of the second man as he gathered his firearm back into his hands, fumbling slightly. She waved the barrel back and forth slightly, "Tsk, tsk. Wouldn't do that if I were you. Drop the gun and kick it over to me now."

She got to her feet, watching him carefully as he did so. "Now unless you want me to open fire on all of you, you will allow me to continue radioing for reinforcements. And then we will all sit here nice and quiet until those reinforcements get here. Then you will either hand over the Tau'ri people, or you will perish. At this point, I'm finding it hard to care if you opt for the latter. I have done all I can do to save you."

"I thought it might come to this," an unfamiliar male voice called out from the back. The crowd parted for a large blonde man with rough, tanned skin and dark eyes. He was in the leathers common to this land, but there was something different from him. Something hard and cold that made him stand out from the people of Kasina.

Vala tried to keep her gaze steady as he stepped to the side to show the two men dragging an unconscious Daniel through the parted crowd.

"I thought it might be kinda hard to convince you to come back willingly and face your fate. So I brought a nice little visual that should help you decide what to do." He calmly pulled a gun out of the vest he was wearing and aimed it at Daniel's head. "Come back, or he dies. Your choice."

Her fearful eyes searched the crowd for a possible out, but she knew she didn't have one. They would all stand by and watch as this stranger killed Daniel just as the crowds had gathered to watch her mother's execution. "You are not of Kasina. What do you care what I do?"

"I'm a friend of the people here," his said as his wicked smirk told her otherwise. "Just trying to make sure justice is served."

Vala threw a glance back to the Stargate to confirm that the wormhole was still active. She lowered her gun to the ground, then crossed her arms behind her back to key in her code to the remote transmitter under the sleeve of her jacket. She then tried to fake looping her fingers through the shoulder holster of her BDU's holding her radio, discretely squeezing it in hopes that Stargate Command would receive the transmission and understand the message. "More like you are Lucian Alliance and trying to make sure SG1 is served up to your boss, am I correct?"

"I'm a business man, Miss Mal Doran, as well as a philanthropist. If I can make sure that the people's needs are served with your very long and very painful end and also make sure another problem is taken care of, well I call that killing two birds with one stone." He cocked the pistol in his hand, placing it directly to Daniel's temple. "Now, my _other_ friends don't necessarily care what shape SG1 is in when I deliver them, so it's up to you whether Dr. Jackson is alive or dead when that happens. Though it might be more merciful this way."

"Don't!" She took a quick step forward. "I've already dropped my weapons. I'll go with you freely, just don't hurt him." She turned to Amotis. "I trusted you. Please make sure that trust was not misplaced and make sure nothing happens to my friends."

Amotis shook his head in confusion before turning to Gregar. "Surely her willingness to sacrifice herself for her friends shows that she is no longer possessed by the demon?"

"Demon," the bounty hunter laughed in Vala's ear as he took hold of her hair and pulled her alongside him. "Can you believe how ignorant these people still are? So easily led. Watch this," he whispered. "Do not fear, Amotis. As promised, I will have the demon reveal itself once we are back in town for all to see."

"Have some trick to make my eyes glow, do you?" Vala hissed. She let out a cry of pain as he jerked her head back closer to his.

"Let's just say I have ways of making you cooperate with me for this little show."

She wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. The Lucian Alliance was a tricky bunch; lessons hard learned that she wasn't likely to forget no matter how much time she spent among the Tau'ri. She still knew of horrors and evils that she was quite certain they would never know. At least, she hoped they never would experience the depravity she had endured at the hands of those of their own race. It was one thing for the Ori or the goa'uld to commit such atrocities as she had witnessed, but it was quite another to see it from another human.

Her eyes rounded as the Ori altar came into her sight. She could feel the color draining from her face as two men grabbed each side of her and dragged her closer to the altar, shoving her down to her knees just a few feet shy of the stone slab the followers of Origin used to cleanse all nonbelievers with what they believed to be the flames of Celestis. She hated to tell them, but they felt like regular old flames to her when they were licking at her skin. There was nothing special about that fire, which the people now knew.

"How is burning me alive going to help you prove that I'm a goa'uld?" she asked through clenched teeth. "Seeing as how you know I am not and therefore know I am not capable of healing myself."

The bounty hunter let out a bellied laugh. "Who said anything about you healing yourself? I don't see a sarcophagus anywhere!" He threw a nod to some men behind her, showing his amusement as she tried to wrench herself around to see what he was motioning for. He knelt in front of her, pulling her face around to his before wiggling a finger in it. "Now, now. You'll ruin the surprise."

As he stood up, Vala's view of the altar was cleared and she could see that they had dragged a now very groggy but somewhat conscious Daniel to the center of it. She flinched as they threw him down roughly, which startled him awake. She jerked away from her captors, throwing herself at Gregar's feet. "Please, do not let them do this. I will do anything you ask, accept any punishment you give without fight. Just please do not let them hurt my friends. I am begging you."

Gregar's hard exterior flinched slightly at this. He looked to the man from the Lucian Alliance for guidance, his firm stance wavering.

The man rolled his eyes, walking casually over to where Vala was bowing at Gregar's feet. He gripped her by the hair with one hand, his gun in the other, as he dragged her to the altar.

Vala's hand gripped her torturer's wrist with both hands, her feet kicking to get good enough traction on the ground to push herself up and attack him. She desperately called out to her people, begging them to rethink their position. She was met with steely gazes, and others merely shifted their eyes away as if they couldn't bear to watch. Angry tears welled in her eyes as the people she called her own once again refused to help her when she desperately needed it most. The man thrust her to the ground right in front of the edge of the shrine and her fingers dug into the dirt beneath her. She silently cursed everything as she felt two pairs of strong arms pull her to her knees. The assassin's hand jerked her chin up, forcing her scowl to meet his smirk.

"Whatever you're trying to do, I won't help you deceive my people," she vowed.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," he promised as he released her face.

Her expression melted as she took in Daniel, who was starting to right himself, shaking his head as if it could clear the fog surrounding him. She had no idea how she could protect him. It seemed that was becoming the story of her life now that her life had changed. She had finally found people that she cared for, but she couldn't protect them. She felt like poison. She had poisoned first her people and Amotis, then Tomin and Adria, and now Daniel and her other friends from the SGC. Watching his eyes lift to hers, she knew that she couldn't save him. They were going to burn him alive, and they were going to make her watch. How that helped to accomplish her new enemy's goal of forcing her to show herself as a goa'uld, she didn't know.

"Vala..." Daniel formed her name in the way of a question as he took in his surroundings and the desolate expression on her face.

He had just pulled himself to his knees when he realized what the structure was that he was kneeling in. A wave of understanding hit him as he turned back to Vala, opening his mouth to speak but only letting out a sigh. He could see the tears streaming down her face as she struggled against the men holding her. He ducked his head down to where he was on the same level, trying to convey to her with his eyes that it would all be okay as he gave a slight nod. Instead of responding to his silent communications, her head whipped to the man standing in between them. He saw her cry out and flail against her guards right before he felt the bullet impact his abdomen. He was on the ground, curling into himself before he had realized it. He gasped with the pain, holding a bloody hand up to Vala to try to stop her from fighting before she got herself shot too. His blurred gaze finally found her as she was no longer struggling against the men holding her. The one that had shot him was holding something out to her that had her frozen. He squinted, trying to make out the object Vala was now taking from the man. She held it in her hands, her head dropped between her shoulders as she looked at it.

"Don't," Daniel struggled to get the word out as he realized what the object was that she was holding. "Vala, don't," he repeated much firmer. "I'll be fine."

Her supplicating gaze fixed onto him. She shook her head slowly, trying to apologize to him with her eyes and steel herself for what she must do next. After all he had done for her, it was the least she could do for him, even though it would seal her fate.

His attacker strode over to him, pushing Daniel onto his back with his foot before pushing the toe of his boot into the gunshot wound he had given the archeologist. He tried to stifle his own cries and instead embrace the anger he was feeling towards this man. "I know what you're trying to do," he grunted through the swells of pain. "And you won't succeed."

The man ignored Daniel's warnings. He pressed his foot harder into his victim until he hollered in pain. His satisfied expression focused on Vala as he casually aimed the gun at Daniel's head. "It's now or never, Qetesh."

Vala took in a deep breath, finding the resolve in herself to force her legs to move as she closed the distance between herself and Daniel. Her darkened eyes snapped up to their tormentor before cutting back down to the boot still on Daniel's abdomen. He removed it, taking a few steps back to clear the view for all to see what she did next.

Daniel's hand locked around the wrist holding the healing device. "Don't do this," he pleaded in a shaky whisper. "The Odyssey will get here soon enough. I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

She pressed her lips into a thin line as she tried to find the strength not to cry. "Not on my watch," she tried to joke as she stroked his hair. "Please don't make me have them hold you down, Daniel. I will." She gave him a determined look, showing him that she was willing to do whatever it took.

"They'll think you're a goa'uld," he pressed.

"I've gotten out of far worse," she responded lightly as she sniffed.

"Not on my watch," he repeated the words back to her, squeezing her wrist.

She gave him an understanding smile. Mitchell had told her when Daniel had sacrificed himself to build Merlin's weapon that the hardest part of this job wasn't risking your life, but watching those you cared about risk theirs. She knew this was especially hard for Daniel, who was so very used to being the one to risk his life to save everyone else. She leaned down, kissing him on the cheek and quickly whispering in his ear, "The Odyssey is too far out to save you, but not me. They won't kill me straight away."

She straightened, waiting for him to realize she was right and release his grip on her. He slowly did so and she tried to look at him with reassurance instead of the fear she felt as the device lit up and began to heal the gunshot wound. She could feel how very intense the damage had been and could only hope that the bounty hunter would allow her the time she needed to heal him completely before demanding her execution. She tried to block out the cries of the townspeople as they witnessed her use of the magic of the demon that had once possessed her. Instead, she locked her eyes onto Daniel's, pushing herself inwardly to focus and continue. She smiled warmly at him as she felt the wound finally seal itself.

"There," she whispered as she lowered the device. "All better." She rose to her feet elegantly, giving him a happy wave and wink before the people swarmed her.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Not long after her little show, Vala found herself chained to a wall in a much smaller cell than the one she and Daniel had been taken to upon first arriving here over a week ago. Her hands were chained above her head, and another thick chain linked her ankles together with barely enough room to walk. She pulled at the chains to no avail, hoping to loosen the metal hook holding her arms above her head. She tried standing on her tip toes so that her hands could reach the clips in her hair and hopefully use them to pick the locks, but she could only just barely brush the top of her own head with her fingers.

"Ever the resourceful thief," the man from the Lucian Alliance laughed as he unlocked her cell door.

"Can't blame a girl for trying," she returned with the best shrug she could muster. "So when do you turn us over to your boss?"

"Oh, you aren't going anywhere. You see, in order for this to work, we had to really convince your people that they would have their justice." The corner of his mouth lifted as he looked her up and down. "They had to believe that Qetesh would pay for her crimes."

"So you turn me over to them and take the rest of SG1 to your boss? I'm curious as to when exactly you're planning on taking off with them and how you're going to convince the Kasinans to let you? SG1 hasn't wronged them, after all." She hoped she wasn't being too obvious. She needed to know if there was a chance for the Odyssey to get here before the Lucian Alliance had her team.

"The Kasinans believe they are allied with you, Qetesh."

"Qetesh's crimes against the Kasinans date back far before even the formation of SG1. My people are not that naive," she challenged.

He was walking around her now, circling her as best he could as he observed her from every angle available. "Weren't you once said to be the goddess of sex? Perhaps I should test that out before your execution. Grant you one last favor before death. What do you think?"

She tried to swallow back the bile in her throat at his insinuation. "I think that if Qetesh were here, she would choose a much finer specimen of a man than you. One who could actually please her."

His eyes darkened at this, throwing the back of his hand across her cheek. "I think you should realize that I'm the one calling the shots here." He pulled his knife out of his belt, running the blade lightly across her cheek. "Which means you should learn to play nice. Change your mind yet?"

Vala tried to force her voice to remain steady as his knife pulled at her black t-shirt, cutting the neck line open. "I think you can slice me up any which way you like, but I'll never play nice."

He ripped her shirt open, exposing her skin to the chilled air of the cell. "Have it your way."

"What are you doing?" Amotis's voice cut through the bounty hunter's fun.

"Interrogating the prisoner," he responded through gritted teeth.

Amotis could see the fear in the woman's eyes, frowning at the site of her bloodied lip. "Until she has been brought before the elders, no harm is to come to her. It is our custom."

The man rolled his eyes as he pushed Vala away from him, his eyes holding promise for the pains he would cause her later. "What are you doing here, Amotis?"

"I have been charged with preparing the accused to stand before our council." He glanced down to the garments in his arms. "This matter demands privacy."

"Fine, just make sure you keep a gun on her at all times and keep your distance," the man warned before brushing past him.

Amotis looked to the woman he once loved, watching as she took shaky breaths and squeezed her eyes closed. "Are you alright?" He couldn't help but ask, feeling the pain of seeing the form of the woman he was to marry in such a state.

"What do you care?" she shot back. She opened her eyes to look at him with question. "Why did you help me?"

"It is our custom that you must be brought before the elders before going to trial," he repeated.

"Where was this custom when you nearly stoned me to death?" she challenged.

He swallowed hard. "It is because of that incident that our customs have changed. There were those who believed you, felt we were not just in so swiftly sentencing you to death."

"And were you among them?"

He turned his head away from her. "I was not. My Vala perished when the demon entered her body."

"Daniel was right," she said with a resigned sigh as she dropped her head, "you never loved me. If you did, you would not be able to bear to see these horrible things befall me."

"And what about the horrible things that have befallen us since you sent your army here?"

Her head snapped back up in confusion. "My army? Qetesh hasn't had an army since she was overthrown. And then killed once she was removed from me," she added.

"I speak of your new army," he clarified. "The Ori army."

Vala let out a humorless laugh. "They weren't my army!"

"No, you allowed your own daughter to lead them. And when you began to lose your hold over her, you killed her. Along with your Tau'ri friends."

Her eyes rounded. "That's...not exactly the way things transpired," she said slowly.

"Do you deny that the Orici was your daughter?"

"No, but--"

"And that you helped kill her?" he pushed as he took a step closer.

She tried to bite back the guilt that she felt from the small truths in his words. Truths that it seemed their Lucian Alliance friend had twisted for his own purposes. "So let me get this straight--you believe that I am Qetesh, a demon who inhabited the body of your fiancé and ruled in a bloody manner over your planet until she was overthrown. And you also believed that as Qetesh, I gave birth to the Orici in an attempt to control the Ori armies?" She shook her head. "How can you not see the thousands of holes in that story, Amotis? And when did you become so incredibly stupid?"

"I will not allow you to twist my mind!" he practically growled.

She could see the doubt he was trying to hide from her. "Why would the Tau'ri aid a goa'uld, Amotis? They were responsible for the downfall of the System Lords."

"No doubt to gain you more power!" His argument was weak, even in his own eyes. "I am going to unchain you so that you might change into attire that you had once left behind, demon. So that you will not garner any sympathy by appearing as a human."

She shook her head sadly. "If I play this little game of dress up for you, will you do something for me?"

"I will not help you escape your fate!"

"Not me." She paused, trying to make sure her eyes reflected the sincerity she felt in this plight. "I need you to make sure my friends are freed."

"So they might come to your aid?"

"No. So that they aren't killed. This man you have chosen to place your trust in is from the Lucian Alliance," she tried to explain.

"Yes, whom we have been trading with for many years now."

She stared at him for a moment, slack jawed. "Are you serious? You're complicit to befriend a bunch of thieves and murderers? Since when!"

"They have never stolen from us nor caused any of our people harm. They have only aided us in capturing and putting to death any false god that dares come through our doorway."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Meaning me."

"You as well as the other," he responded.

"What other?" she asked intently.

"One of your many former lovers," he retorted as he unchained her. "We will continue to kill any of the others that come to here in search of you."

Vala was not only puzzled but also deeply troubled by this. "He was looking for Qetesh? What did he look like?"

Amotis dropped his hands as he thought this over. "Actually, he was searching for our Vala. He wanted information on her." He gave a shrug as he went back to unchaining her. "He did not believe us when we told him she was no more. He began to question when it was that she was taken by Qetesh."

"And you have no idea who he was?" she asked once more, curiosity overwhelming her.

He knelt at her feet, fiddling idly with the chains as he tried to remember. "I do not remember his name. I do recall the symbol of his Jaffa, though." He dropped the chains from her ankles beside him, using his finger to draw a symbol in the dirt near him.

Vala dropped to her knees in front of him as she examined his drawing. "That's Ba'al's symbol...when was this, Amotis?"

"Perhaps two seasons ago, I believe," he answered before looking at her with a pained gaze.

"That can't be. The Tok'ra killed the last Ba'al clone over a year ago," she muttered to herself before feeling his stare. "What?"

"How is it I can look at you and speak to you, and only see her though I know it to be different?" He dropped his head. "I feel hope swell in my heart that you have been speaking the truth, but the words of others tell me not to hope."

She lifted his chin, giving him a warm smile. "You know me, the old me, better than anyone else, Amotis. Your heart is telling you that it is me, Vala. That's why you haven't pointed your gun at me. Your instincts are telling you that you have nothing to fear."

He jerked away, standing up so that his shadow fell over her as his expression darkened. "You use my sentiments for Vala against me. I will not fall for your trickery. You will change and then you will be presented before the council, who will see you for the demon you are."

"And what of my request?" she asked as she stood up. "Will you see to it that my friends are returned back to Earth?"

He breathed in a shaky breath as he thought over her request. "Only after they have taken you to trial beyond their reach will I see to their freedom."

"Taken me? You mean my trial won't be here?"

"No, we learned that this was not suitable with the one you call Ba'al. He showed his formidable powers as a demon once his trial had begun. A blinding light surrounded us, and we were suddenly in the midst of his many Jaffa. He brought his followers to us. Many died that day."

"So you think that if the demon doesn't know where they are, they won't be able to bring in backup." She couldn't help but role her eyes at their logic. "That makes no sense at all! If he's all powerful, he's be able to draw his forces to him regardless of whether or not he knew where he was. And furthermore, what you witnessed was the beaming technology of his ship that had come to retrieve him. It wasn't magic, it was technology! How can you people still be so stupid after all this time?"

"Enough! You will dress and then you will come with me. Now!" With that, he turned and walked to the edge of the cell, his back turned to give her privacy.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Vala squared her shoulders as she entered the council chambers. She took an exaggerated look around at the drab copper statues of miserable faces and the dark curtains draped here and there. "Looks like you've redecorated. Not exactly the color scheme I would go with but I tend to like things a bit brighter since my time on Kasina."

Gregar ignored her. "You have been brought before us, the elders of Kasina, so that we might decide your fate. The charges against you are many. What do you have to say for yourself?"

She took a look around at the steely gazes of the elders. "You know, maybe we could go and fetch Daniel. The scraggly looking one that appears to have not slept for ages? Lots of paper cuts on his fingers? He's _much_ better at the speeches than I am."

One of the female elders leaned forward as though she could peer into Vala's very soul. "Is that really all you have to say for yourself, child?"

She gave the elder a resigned look. "Let's be honest here. It doesn't matter what I say to you. You've all made your decision, just as you had the last time I came here knowingly. You would rather embrace the lies of a stranger than hear the truth from one of your own."

"So you deny the charges against you?" Gregar asked with impatience.

"What if I do? What happens then?"

"Then we will hear your words and deliberate," the female elder answered.

"And how long does this deliberation usually last?" She was already calculating in her head, trying to decide how long it would take for the Lucian Alliance to transport SG1 and how much longer it would take for the Odyssey to get here. If she was able to delay them with deliberation, she was risking her friends. Would the Odyssey be able to get here before the Lucian Alliance?

"A day or so, perhaps more," the woman answered kindly.

Vala could tell she had a shot with this woman. She was showing her compassion. She seemed to have an open mind. "Question," she began as she paced in front of their table, "exactly how many ships has your new friend brought to this planet?"

The elder frowned, uncertain as to how to answer. "Only the one in which he came. But we are expecting more after sunrise tomorrow. In exchange for one of our crops, they will be leaving one of these vessels with us."

_Not likely_, the former space pirate thought to herself. Most likely they were going to show up with their ships, take SG1 and the Kasina crops--most likely being kassa if they were going through this much trouble--and then attack this planet in a manner that would be decidedly less like all of the playing nice they had been doing. But she couldn't concern herself with what would befall the people of Kasina now. They had made their own beds, she just had to make sure SG1 wasn't forced to lie in it. "Well then, it sounds like you have a busy day or so ahead of you. So why don't we just speed things up, hmmm? If I confess to you, tell you what I am and all that I've done, will you allow me to heal the Tau'ri man that Gregar wounded?"

The woman's frown deepened at this. "Why would you ask to heal him if you plan to confess?"

"The Tau'ri truly know me to be Vala. They are unaware of my true identity," she answered quickly, hoping her lie was convincing enough to gain her friends sympathy.

Gregar jumped to his feet. "So you admit that you are not truly our Vala but the demon Qetesh!"

Vala lifted a brow as she cut her gaze to him. "That depends. Will you allow me to heal him or not?"

The elderly woman shook her head. "I do not pretend to understand the madness inside the mind of a demon, but I cannot see any harm in allowing her to use her magic to heal the innocent."

The others nodded their agreement, except for Gregar, whose glare remained fixed on Vala as she smiled triumphantly. "Perfect! So which one of you lovely gentlemen would like to escort me there?" she asked with a saucy wink.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Daniel had been screaming his protests since two of the townsmen took hold of him after Vala healed his gunshot wound. He was pleading with anyone he thought might be within earshot of him to hear him out, to be willing to see the truth. Vala hadn't looked worried as she had been drug off. She had merely chided those grabbing at her, telling them not to make her break a nail. Was it impossible for her to take anything seriously?

He struggled against his captors even harder when the man from the Lucian Alliance made a point of looking at Vala with lust before throwing a wink Daniel's way. He finally freed himself of the beefy arms holding him and threw himself at Amotis as he passed by, grabbing him by the ankle before the others pulled him away once more.

"Please," Daniel beseeched Vala's former fiancé, "do not leave her alone with him. Whatever you think she is, she doesn't deserve that."

Amotis shrugged the human slave off of him, trying to ignore the warning in his eyes as he made his way to the council chambers for further direction.

Daniel watched him walk away in stunned silence, still unable to comprehend how coldly he looked upon the face of the woman he once loved. He had never managed to do that with Sha're. Regardless of the goa'uld that held her captive within her own mind, he could only see her when he looked into her eyes. And he wasn't as lucky as Amotis. What he would have given to find out that it was actually Sha're looking back at him, completely free of Amonet.

He turned his attention back to the men who held him as they began to carry him through the village. "Please, you have to listen to me. This man that you are placing your trust in is...._bad_," he rolled his eyes at his lack of verbal skills at the moment. "He's a part of an organization called the Lucian Alliance. He's manipulating you so that you will turn us over to them. You have to help us. Please!"

The two men shared a look between each other before one let out a scoff and the other laughed.

Daniel's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to convince them. "Look, what you saw Vala do was not magic. It's technology that she's able to use only because of her time as a host to the goa'uld Qetesh, who has been dead for a long time now." He could see that they were getting closer to the building that he recognized as their small prison, where they were held last time. "We can prove it to you if you just let us bring some other people here!"

"More people to fight for you," one of the men muttered as they dragged him down the hallway to the cell.

"No, I promise you that no harm will come to your people! That's not how we do things!" he pressed as they unlocked the cell and threw him inside. He scrambled back to his feet and threw his hand against the bars as the lock clicked back in place and the men began to walk away. "She's innocent!" he cried after them, then slammed his hands against the bars in frustration.

"Dr. Jackson, what are you doing here?" Teyla asked.

He turned around to find her on her knees in the corner of the cell, Colonel Mitchell's head in her lap as she wiped at his forehead with a wet cloth. "We came here to rescue you," he answered with rich sarcasm as he cut his eyes to Teal'c.

The Jaffa took a step forward, his broad arms crossed behind his back. "Is Vala Mal Doran not with you?"

Daniel heaved a sigh. "She was. Mitchell was wrong. Vala wasn't bait." He turned back to Teyla. "How is he?"

"His fever runs high," she answered with concern. "I fear he will not last long without medical attention." She glanced back and forth between the members of SG1. "We must get to the gate."

"Where's Sheppard and SG14?" Daniel asked as he took notice of the missing SGC members.

"I believe they attempting to keep SG1 separate," Teal'c responded.

At Daniel's confused look, Teyla continued, "It would seem they believe me to be Colonel Carter. I did not feel it would be prudent to correct them."

"Good thinking," he commented as he looked gravely upon his team leader. "Who knows what they would do to try to get her here. Any ideas as to how we get out of here?"

Teal'c nodded to Teyla, who placed the cloth across Mitchell's forehead before standing up and gesturing for Daniel to come closer. "We believe it will be easier for Teal'c to carry Colonel Mitchell to the gate. I will then go and free John and the others. Now that you are here, perhaps you can find a way to retrieve our weapons in case we meet resistance on the way to the gate."

Daniel rubbed his lips together, knowing there was no way he was leaving this planet without Vala in tow. "I'll go and find Vala while you free SG14 and head for the gate. Wait for us there. Vala will know where our weapons are. We'll get them, and meet you near the gate in the woods. It should be getting dark soon, so that should help us stay hidden."

"Are you aware of where they are keeping Vala Mal Doran?" Teal'c asked.

He shook his head. "No, but I'll find her."

They all straightened as they heard footsteps echoing against the concrete floors of the hallway. There was a crowd of the townsmen that seemed to be protecting someone as they approached. The men in front stepped away to reveal a woman shrouded by a sheer black cloak, which did very little to hide the outfit underneath. The silk material was black as well, and was in such small patches that it left very little of the body to the imagination. The woman pulled the hood of the cloak back to reveal her long raven hair and her mischievous toothy grin.

"Hello boys," Vala paused, throwing a puzzled glance to Teyla. "And girl. Having fun?"

"Where have you been?" Daniel hissed through the bars as he watched Vala snap her fingers at the lock and one of the men rush forward to unlock it.

"Negotiating for your freedom, darling." She cut her eyes back to Amotis. "Do you see how grateful he is for all that I do for him?"

The door was barely open a second before Daniel grabbed her arm and dragged her inside closer to them. "What's going on?" He looked her up and down. "And why are you wearing that?"

She used her finger to gently rub at the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, dear, there was a little drool. If I had known that all it took was a costume change to get this sort of reaction out of you--"

"Vala Mal Doran," Teal'c interrupted as he approached. "What is the purpose of the garments they have placed you in?"

She gave him an open mouth smile as she tilted her head. "Hello Muscles. Not impressed, are you?"

"_Vala_," Daniel chided.

"Alright, alright," she waved them off as she approached the bars and held out her hand to Amotis, who slammed the goa'uld healing device into her palm. "It's for my trial. If I am going to be accused of being a goddess, I thought I might want to look the part." She twirled around as if in show. "What do you think? Does it say Goddess to you? Or merely over--er, underdressed goa'uld?"

"So they're putting you on trial?" Daniel confirmed as she walked over to Cam and knelt down beside him. "But they're letting you heal Mitchell?"

"Negotiated for that as well," Vala answered as the device lit up over Cam's leg. Her brows pulled down in concentration. "He's much worse than I thought. Make sure they have a medical team waiting for you."

"Are we free to leave?" Teyla asked as she looked on.

Vala bounced her head between her shoulders slightly. "Not quite yet." She glanced back up to Amotis. "I think that as soon as my trial begins, you will be."

"I'll stay," Daniel automatically volunteered. "Somehow I don't think it's a good idea for you to speak on your own behalf."

"Afraid that's not possible." Vala shrugged slightly. "It's either all of you leave at the same time or none at all."

"Then we'll stay until the trial is done," he pressed.

"No," she snapped. She closed her eyes to calm herself as the light of the healing device fluctuated. "I've worked very hard to ensure your freedom, Daniel, and I'll not have your hero complex ruin it all."

"It's not my hero complex," he argued. "Is it really so hard for you to admit that you need me??"

"I don't!" She bit her lip. "What I need is for you to head back to the gate and get back to safety before the Lucian Alliance gets here with their ships. I can take care of myself, Daniel. It's all part of plan."

Teal'c lifted a brow with doubt. "Your plan?"

"Big plan," Vala added with a strangled smile. "Biggest one to date, actually."

Daniel was giving her that penetrating gaze, the one that said he could see right through her. "What aren't you telling us?"

"No idea what you're talking about," she responded as her eyes shifted down. If Daniel had any inkling that she was possibly sacrificing herself for them, he would mess everything up and they would all be dead. _Not sacrificing_, she corrected herself inwardly. She was merely using herself as a diversion. She would escape. She had been in far worse situations than this before and made it out. She lowered the device as she felt the wound close. "I've done all I can do for him."

"What do you mean?" Teyla asked with concern.

She brushed some Cam's hair back as she looked at her teammate and friend. "I managed to heal the wound and the infection, but he's lost a lot of blood." She gave a pained look to Daniel. "I can't do anything about that."

He walked over and knelt beside her, placing a comforting hand on her back. "He'll be fine." His eyes searched hers as he asked, "What are you planning, Vala?"

She placed a hand on his knee with a pat. "You'll just have to trust me, Daniel." She used his knee to push herself up, only to have her knees buckle from the lack of food and sleep, and the energy it took to heal both Daniel and Cam's wounds. She gave a weak smile to Teal'c, whose strong arms had caught her and lowered her back down to the ground. "Forgot how much those things take out of you," she said with an embarrassed laugh.

"Are you unwell, Vala Mal Doran?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm fine, Muscles. Don't you worry." She held up a hand to Amotis, asking him to give her a few more minutes. She turned her focus on Cam as he began to stir. "Well good morning, sleepy head!"

"Vala?" Cam asked weakly as he turned his head in the direction of her voice. He peered at her through half open eyes. "What on earth are you wearing?"

She threw her hands up in the air in mock exasperation. "Really! Can no one admit how absolutely fabulous I look right now?"

He laughed softly as he tried to pull himself up. "Not that I'm not happy to see you there, princess, but I did get shot in the effort of keeping you away from this place." His eyes opened all the way and he looked down to the leg in question, which was no longer bleeding. "I did get shot, didn't I?"

"Indeed," the Jaffa answered. "Vala Mal Doran was able to heal your wound."

"Time is up," Amotis announced as he entered the cell.

"I don't recall inviting him to this little reunion," the paled Mitchell tried to joke.

Amotis shot the Colonel a glare before approaching Vala. "You have healed him, as you wished to do. We must go now."

Vala slowly looked up to the man addressing her, her eyes heavy. "Yes, and I plan to do my part. But unfortunately, I'm feeling a little bit on the weak side at the moment." She held her hand up to him. "Is it too much to ask that you help me get back to your dear council?"

Hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to her feet, only to find Daniel standing in his way. "Move aside."

"Go, Daniel. I'll be fine," Vala tried to assure him.

His blue eyes bore into hers as he shook his head. "Don't make me say goodbye to you, Vala. Whatever you have planned, it won't work." His features softened as he begged her, "Please let me help you."

"This isn't goodbye, Daniel," she replied warmly. "That's not what this was about."

Before he could respond, Amotis stepped around him, passing Vala off to two other man, who strong armed her away. As he turned to secure the cell, SG1 along with Teyla had approached the bars, each looking fierce.

"If anything happens to her," Mitchell ground out, his blue eyes turning dark with the threat now behind them, "we will kill you."

"Her fate is out of my hands," Amotis retorted hotly. "She has accepted this. You must as well."

"What is her part?" Daniel asked. "She said she'll do her part. What does that mean?"

"She agreed to confess," the Kasinan answered with a frown.

"You know she's lying." The archeologist's eyes lit up with hope. "Please, allow me to speak on her behalf. I can help the others to see the truth and then we can help you with the Lucian Alliance." He watched as the man shook his head and retreated down the hallway swiftly. "You can save her!" he yelled after him, grabbing at the bars. "PLEASE!"

"Easy, Jackson," Mitchell tried to calm his teammate down. "We have to keep our heads if we're going to get out of here."

"Are you able to move freely now, Colonel Mitchell?"

He nodded his answer to Teal'c before easing himself down onto the ground gently. "Yea, just a little tired. And still a bit sore."

"Vala informed us that you had lost a lot of blood and that it was important that we get you to the infirmary as soon as we are free," Teyla informed him. "We have come up with a plan."

"I just need to figure out where that trial will be held," Daniel muttered to himself as he leaned his head against the bars of the cell. "They'll probably be holding her near there."

Mitchell sat up straighter, his eyes widened. "I'm sorry, did you just say trial?"

Daniel turned around, his brows furrowed. "Yes, though apparently they've already decided her guilt. Confessing didn't help." He looked to ceiling, his anger at Vala building. "What was she thinking! How can we defend her if she confesses?"

Mitchell ran both of his hands over his face. "Shit!" He leaned his head back against the wall. "This is bad."

"Yea, we got that, Cam."

"No, Jackson, you don't!" He looked around to the other team members. "She didn't tell you guys. Why am I not surprised," he asked himself slowly. "Their idea of a trial is vastly different from ours. She told me that basically, if she lives through it all, she's a goa'uld. If she doesn't, well, then they decide she must've been innocent."

Daniel felt his heart drop in his chest. "If she floats, she's a witch..."

The Colonel nodded gravely. "If she drowns, she's not," he added.

"We have to get out of here." His panicked eyes turned to Teal'c, who bowed his head at the silently plea and made his way over to the bars and began to examine the hinges. Daniel began patting at his pockets and wishing Teyla wore the same sort of hair accessories as Vala. She would have merely pulled out a bobby pin and had the lock freed in no time. His head jerked up at the sound of the metal bars screaming their protest as Teal'c pulled the door up, freeing it from the poorly made hinges.

"Someone had to have heard that," Mitchell noted as he allowed Teyla to help him up. "We need to go get the rest of the gang."

"That's the plan," Daniel said as he turned to his team leader. "Teal'c is going to get you to the gate while Teyla gets the others and Vala and I get our weapons."

"Negative," the Colonel responded. "I don't back down that easily, Jackson. You should know that."

He stifled his protests, knowing he would be telling everyone else to go to hell if they tried to keep him from rescuing Vala. She was a member of their team and their friend, which meant they would do whatever it took to get her back. "Alright. Our weapons should be around here somewhere. I doubt they would have stripped you of your gear before getting you here."

Cam clapped him on the back. "Good thinking. Now let's get the rest of the gang and then go get our girl!"


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

General Landry's heavy eyes glanced around the briefing room table, waiting for one member of the three SGC teams before him to speak. They had arrived through the Stargate around an hour ago. Carolyn and her medical staff had been buzzing around them, but they had refused treatment for the most part, each feeling the weight of the empty chair next to Daniel. Landry had yet to find out just heavy that weight was as no one had given any indication to their missing team mate's well being.

This fact was not lost on Colonel Carter as she held her place in his office. She had no official reason to attend the briefing, but both Jack and Landry had subtly asked her to wait in the General's office while the debriefing took place. She bounced her legs from her perch at the edge of one of the leather chairs that furnished Landry's office, stopping only when she heard the SGC's commander clear his throat.

"I know you folks have been through quite the ordeal, but I'm afraid someone is going to have to fill me in on the details," he pressed as gently as possible as he looked around to the military personnel at the table.

"We lost her, sir," Cam stated simply.

"I'm gonna need you to clarify that, son. How did you lose Vala?"

"We didn't lose her," Daniel corrected, his pained gaze boring into the table before him, "she gave herself up." He pushed the air out of his lungs, feeling the expectant stares of Jack and Landry. "We went to the dinner, but they drugged us. Well, me. Vala made for the gate, but they caught her."

"I thought some of them seemed to believe she wasn't a snakehead anymore?" Jack asked as he tapped his pencil against the table. "They all just stand by and watch?"

"No, they were convinced. The Lucian Alliance had someone on the inside. Someone with a goa'uld healing device," the archeologist explained as he finally turned to his eyes up to his friend and former teammate. "They shot me in front of her. I'd be dead if she hadn't healed me." The guilt of his words flickered across his expression as he lowered his head.

"Remind me to give Vala a lesson in just how many times you've died and come back," Jack tried to joke before turning a questioning gaze to Mitchell. "Mind telling me if I'll get that opportunity?"

"We don't know, sir," the still pallor faced Colonel answered.

"We were unable to locate Vala Mal Doran when we made our escape," Teal'c stated.

"How did you escape?" the General asked as he looked around to the remaining members of SG1. "I thought this whole thing had been cooked up by the Lucian Alliance so they could get their hands on you."

"It was, but they underestimated Teal'c's ability to pull apart cells with his bare hands," Mitchell responded as he pointed at the Jaffa with his thumb.

Jack lifted knowing brows at his friend. "Had the proper leverage, did you?"

Teal'c inclined his head at the reference to the movie they had all watched together.

Cam tried not to roll his eyes as he shot a glance to Sheppard, who had remained quiet since they had filled him in. "Which reminds me, how did you guys get free?"

Sheppard removed his chin from his hand to respond. "It was looking pretty grim till I told Ronon that I was pretty sure Teal'c had busted you guys out already." He cocked his head at his teammate, who was sharing a challenging stare with the Jaffa. "He was suddenly inspired after that."

Ronon simply pulled a blade from behind one of his locks of hair and dropped it on the table before him, his eyes never leaving Teal'c's. "These helped." He gave a cocky grin at the subtle and impressed nod the Jaffa gave him. "Woulda helped with that little creep, too."

Jack lifted a hand. "What creep?"

"Amotis," Daniel ground out the name.

"We ran into him right after we escaped," Cam finished. "Pretty sure he knew where Vala was and just needed to be convinced to tell us. We were trying to find that out before we were _interrupted_." He couldn't help but glower at the memory. They had been so close...

_The SG personnel had split up, leaving SG14 to secure the area around the gate while SG1 and the Atlantis flagship team tried to find Vala. They had barely made it down the hallway before Mitchell found himself face to face with the man responsible for this whole mess. He wasted no time in making sure Amotis was well acquainted with the wall near them._

_"Listen up, buddy. You see all these guys behind me? Well they're just as pissed as I am that you took off with our friend. So you're gonna tell us where she is, got it?"_

_"She has already been taken to trial," Amotis answered as best he could with his face pressed against the wall._

_"What do you mean?" a panicked Daniel asked. "It can't be over that fast!"_

_Cam flipped the man around, slamming his back against the wall. "Answer the man's question."_

_"She has been taken to another location to be put on trial." He glanced to the blank and angry stares. "Through the Stargate," he elaborated._

_"Buddy, you better have a gate address," Cam threatened. _

_"I do not," he hung his head, "they no longer believe me capable of ensuring the justice our people deserve."_

_"There's no justice in this!" Daniel spat out as he tried to get to the man. _

_Colonel Sheppard blocked the diplomat's attempts to get his hands on Amotis, using one hand to gently push the man back. "If she's already gone, why were you heading our way?"_

_Amotis breathed heavily. "If there is some part of my Vala left, I must see to her wishes. She asked that I free you once she had been taken away."_

_"What about the Lucian Alliance?" Sheppard asked. "Thought they wanted SG1 pretty bad."_

_The Kasinan lifted his chin with pride. "I care not for their wishes. They are not of Kasina. Our quarrel is not with you, it is with the demon."_

_Mitchell slowly released his grip on the man. "But just in case she's not a demon, you freed us. Sounds like you can do more for her than you're lettin' on."_

_Sheppard gave a confident and somewhat threatening smirk. "We have faith in you."_

_Daniel took a step forward. "Please, help us find her. Before it's too late."_

_Amotis opened his mouth to respond but closed it with a frown as a white light engulfed those surrounding him. _

_"No!" Cam cried out, trying to grab for the man who might be able to help them before they were beamed aboard. "We have to go back down there!" He ordered immediately as the bridge came into focus before them._

_"Negative, Colonel Mitchell," Colonel Davidson responded from the chair. "My orders were to extract all SG personnel and bring you back to Stargate Command."_

_"All SG personnel?" Daniel asked hopefully. "Were you able to find Vala?"_

_The commander of the Odyssey shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. We scanned the entire planet but we couldn't get a lock on her anywhere."_

"So you see, sirs," Mitchell addressed his two superior officers, "we need to get back to that planet. I say we take the Odyssey back there, beam down, find Amotis, and beam back up with him. He can help us."

"I can't help but notice how our last simple mission to this planet went horribly wrong, Colonel. I'm not inclined to go rushing back just yet." Landry turned to the archeologist. "What do we know about these people?"

"Other than how barbaric they are, not much," he responded. "Qetesh ruled over them for a time before the Tok'ra incited the riot against her. Actually, the Tok'ra might know more than we possibly could."

"They've already left, but I want you in touch with them first thing in the morning. We'll run down all the channels and see what we can find out about these people and where they might have taken Vala."

Cam did his best to bite his tongue as the General rose from the chair. "And then what, sir?"

Landry pressed his palms to the table before him, leaning forward intensely. "And then we will use whatever means necessary to get her back, Colonel. I warned these people that taking one of our own would mean war." A smug smile crossed his face as he continued, "Luckily, the president agrees with me. For now, I'm ordering every single one of you to the infirmary and then to temporary quarters. Get rested up, people. You're gonna need it. Dismissed."

Daniel looked up to find a familiar blonde head leaning around the General's door. He tried to give her a weak smile as she slowly made her way out and took a seat next to him, his heavy legs not yet allowing him to follow through on the general's orders.

"Hi," she said simply, though the word held more question than he was happy to answer.

"Hi," he replied back.

"What happened back there?" Her round blue eyes were filled with worry for her missing friend.

"Just what you heard," he answered as he locked eyes with the Colonel across from him, taking notice that SG1 members present and past had all lingered behind. "Vala gave herself up. She confessed to Qetesh's crimes so the Kasinans would free us."

"That easy?" Jack asked from the head of the table, his elbows propped on the table with his hands folded in front of his face.

"No," Cam responded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "It's never that easy with Vala. Our girl wouldn't go quietly. I bet she's giving them one hell of a fight."


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

The sun had set well over an hour ago on this new planet, though Vala wasn't sure where exactly that was. The Kasinans, led by Gregar, had taken her through multiple Stargates. Fortunately for her, they were underestimating her cunning once again by failing to blindfold her each time they dialed the gate. They had taken her through the gates on many of the planets they traded with, but this one was unfamiliar to her. She was fairly certain she hadn't been here with SG1, but she wasn't ruling out the possibility that another SG team had been here before.

She knew she couldn't count on that though. She was chained to a post in the middle of a clearing in the woods with no sign of a village in sight. The chains on her wrist, though lengthy enough for her to be able to change her positions, were welded to the same point just above her head. They had only posted one guard with her in the clearing before retreating to what she supposed was a more comfortable setting for their rest.

She still had on that ridiculous outfit of Qetesh's, but thankfully she had managed to keep the bobby pins that were keeping her bangs out of her face. Her lock picking skills had become a touch rusty since joining up with the SGC, but she was fairly certain that she could manage. And after sizing up the guard they had left her with, she _knew_ she could manage him just fine.

So then it was just a matter of waiting. Which unfortunately had meant waiting for Gregar to finish listing her supposed crimes. Qetesh had ruled over Kasina for only a handful of years, but she had fit a lot of horror into that short time. Vala fought a shiver at the thought, trying to force back the flashes of memories she had from her time as host while those horrors were inflicted by her own hands.

She swallowed past the guilt, knowing that there was no place for that in her current situation. She had learned a long time ago that survival came first. Carefully and quietly, she removed the pins from her hair and began fiddling with the lock, stifling the curses that she would usually spout at her lack of immediate success. After what felt like ages, and after carefully considering and then dismissing the age old 'seduce the guard to gain your freedom' bit, she finally felt the familiar click of the lock releasing from her left wrist. She swiftly caught the manacle before it fell to the ground, and then went to work on the other one, which was considerably harder since she was using her less dominate hand. This one came off with much more ease.

She laid them on the ground beside where she had been sitting, then eased herself from the ground and tiptoed to the guard, who had his back to her. Without hesitation, she locked her arm around his windpipe and began to squeeze with all of her might, fighting to keep a good grip on him as he flung her around in an attempt to fight back. His resolve weakened along with his breath, and he finally fell to his knees in unconsciousness. When she was certain that he was out, she released her grip and eased him to the ground.

And then she ran. Her feet were still bare, but she ignored the sting of the branches and rocks that her feet fell upon as she raced to the Stargate. That's all that mattered now--getting to the gate. In her head, she ran threw a list of possible planets she could seek refuge at. She needed one that was an ally to the SGC and that didn't have any sort of iris. What was the address of the planet that Daniel had been droning on and on about? The one where the SGC had set up a dig that he had wanted to lead, but hadn't been allowed to because of the Tok'ra treaty thing?

The Tok'ra. She could head to the planet where the host of the last Ba'al clone had taken up residence. What had they named him again? Roberto? No matter, he would know how to reach the Tok'ra, if he wasn't already in the company of some of them. She could only hope, as she knew they would not only have an IDC code and transmitter, but would also be able to protect her in case the Kasinans were able to track her down.

She slowed her pace as she reached the edge of the woods near the gate, taking stock of her surroundings to ensure no one was guarding it or had followed her. She crouched down, which caused her to wince as the muscles on her feet stretched. She frowned at the blood and dirt caked around her feet, hoping that whatever damage she had done wouldn't prevent her from wearing open toed heels again. She had just picked out a very expensive and snazzy pair that Daniel was going to be purchasing for her for her birthday.

After she was certain the coast was clear, she limped the few yards between her and the DHD, using one side of it to hold herself up while she used her other hand to dial Roberto's new home world. She almost cried out with relief as the kawoosh formed. She was almost there, almost home.

She did cry out when a sharp pain shot up her spine, falling to the ground as she curled into herself until the pain stop. Her eyes lifted to see Gregar standing above her, the goa'uld pain stick responsible for her pain in his hand.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yes," she panted, "thought I might pop in and see some friends of mine. Not that you and your people have been anything but charming, but I find their ways to be far more enjoyable than yours, dull as they may be."

He knelt down in front of her. "Did you honestly think we would let you escape? The people of Kasina have been waiting for this moment for far too many cycles of the seasons to let you out of our sight that easily."

"Can't blame a girl for trying," she remarked with a lift of the shoulder as she straightened herself. She braced herself as he swung the pain stick around, connecting it with her jaw so that she was now tasting blood. Her dark eyes flickered up to him. "My people will find me. And when they do, they won't be able to stop me from ensuring that you pay for all of this in a very slow and painful way."

"You have no people now, nor any power." He paused to spit on her. "You are nothing now. And you will pay for your crimes. Bring her!" he commanded to his fellow Kasinans.

She allowed them to pull her to her feet, fighting to not show the searing pain coming from her bloodied feet. She focused instead on Gregar, letting her hatred for this man and all he stood for roll through her, fueling the next escape attempt she was already planning. And this time, she wouldn't play as nice. And she would make sure he was close.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine**:

Carter was staring at the star map on her computer, once again going over the possible planets that the Kasinans might have taken Vala to for her trial. She was due to leave at 0800 to take her ship to the system of planets surrounding Kasina in order to try to get a lock on her transmitter. The Odyssey, with its cloaking abilities, would be heading to one of the many known Lucian Alliance systems with the same order--scan for Vala and move on.

Sam was incredibly thankful that the president had taken such an interest in Vala, but she couldn't help but worry that pretty soon the IOA would put too much pressure on him and he would have to back down. She worried at her bottom lip as she thought about how soon that might be. A glance down to the date at the corner of her screen told her that they had already lost a day. She couldn't help but wonder whose time was going to run out first--the President's from the political pressure, or Vala at the hands of her people.

"Knock, knock," Cam called from the doorway to her lab. He raised one of the styrofoam cups in his hand in greeting.

"I thought Carolyn was holding you hostage in the infirmary?" she asked as she accepted the cup he offered her.

"Nah, I broke out so I could be on coffee duty." He lifted his cup in a mock toast. "To being useful in a crisis."

She gave him a sympathetic look as she blew over the top of her steaming beverage. "You are useful, Cam."

"Yea, so useful that I practically handed them Vala back on a silver platter," he muttered as he stared at the plastic lid.

"Don't," Sam reached her hand out to give his arm a gentle squeeze. "This isn't your fault."

"If we hadn't gotten caught--" he stopped himself, clenching his jaw. "This whole thing is so messed up, Sam. I just don't get it. They seem to know who we are, they even believed us when we were there before...but now? Bam! They change their minds."

Both Colonels' heads snapped up as someone cleared their throat from the doorway.

Colonel Sheppard held out his hands apologetically. "Sorry to eavesdrop." He turned his eyes to Colonel Carter. "I was looking for you and couldn't help but hear that last bit and I think I know what's up."

Carter's brows furrowed as she cocked her head at her former colleague. "What do you mean? With the Kasinans?"

"Yea," he answered, dragging out the word in his trademark way. "I noticed some things while we were there. What's the name of that show that we used to watch when we were kids?" he asked, the name on the tip of his brain as he snapped his fingers as if to urge the answer out. "The one with the puppets?"

Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest as he looked back and forth between Carter and Sheppard. "The one with the hot chic in leather and that weird guy?"

John's face distorted in stark disbelief. "_No_...what kinda shows were you watching as a kid?"

"Um, Cam," Carter tried to stifle a laugh, "I think he's talking about Sesame Street." She turned back to him in question. "Though I'm not sure what Sesame Street has to do with the Kasinans, John."

"You know that game? 'One of these things doesn't belong here'," he sang the title of the game. "Well let's just say there was a lot of that going on with the Kasinan people."

"I know what you mean," Cam agreed. "We noticed that before. From the looks of their village, they aren't that technologically advanced. I mean, some of them were carrying bows and arrows and others zats and staff weapons. Doesn't match up."

"Yea, but I'm talking about the people." He leaned his shoulder against the doorway, pausing as if in thought. "Some of the people that were guarding us were, well, a little different from the others."

"How so?" Carter pressed.

"Just their demeanor, I guess. Some of them seemed like soldiers, but some of the others seemed...civilian. More emotional than the soldier guys."

Mitchell straightened as he caught on. "You think there were more members of the Lucian Alliance there."

Sheppard shrugged. "I'm just guessing here. But if there were other members of the Lucian Alliance there, it would make sense. They get wind of your first visit, start whispering in the people's ears and provide them with a solid way to get SG1 back there."

"And if they targeted Qetesh's victims, they'd be able to convince the people that Vala was still Qetesh that much easier," Sam added. "They'd be clouded by their emotions and be willing to make rash decisions."

"And they'd be out for blood," John agreed.

"Well from what Jackson has been able to gather, Qetesh's victims on that planet adds up to a pretty large crowd," Cam offered as he ran his hand over his face. "I hate to say this, Sam, but we better find her fast. If the Lucian Alliance has managed to stir those people up this much...I don't think we have much time. If she doesn't turn up on one of the planets you guys scan..."

"I know," Sam answered quietly, feeling the weight of her upcoming mission weighing heavily on her shoulders.

"Which is why I was looking for you, actually," Sheppard chimed in. "I was thinking that we have the puddle jumpers at our disposal. McKay said he can whip up some kinda scanning thing like you have on your ship for the puddle jumpers."

"And you guys can cloak, too," Mitchell added with encouragement, "which means you can check out some of the other Lucian Alliance planets."

Sam gave John a relieved and appreciative smile. "Thank you, John. Your help would mean a lot to us."

He lifted his shoulder in response. "What can I say? Vala's grown on me."

"I bet she has," Sam teased. "Too bad your first date got interrupted."

John shook his head. "You coulda warned me about the whole thing with Dr. Jackson, ya know."

She did her best to feign innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Colonel Sheppard."

Cam clapped the man on the back. "Don't worry about it, Shepp. Grandma always said that a little healthy competition always does a man good."


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

Vala spat out the blood from where the last blow to her face had caused her teeth to cut the inside of her cheek. This was only the first blood drawn from the Kasinans, and by the looks and sounds of it, there would be plenty more to come, and it would come fast. They had spent the last four days going over her crimes, the many different victims of Qetesh slowly making their way to the trial grounds so that their cases might be heard. It then had to be decided whose grievances warranted her blood spilt in order for justice to be found. Unfortunately for Vala, Qetesh spilt a lot of blood while ruling over Kasina, and the Kasinans were all about an eye for an eye--or in her case blood for blood. She was fairly certain she was going to run out of blood before all the injured parties had their shot at her.

The weight of her current situation was starting to weigh heavily on her. She had no clever ideas, no friends to fall back on. She wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this, especially without hurting anyone.

As if on cue, Gregar approached, a goa'uld pain stick swinging at his side, the gun he had used to shoot both Daniel and Mitchell latched onto his belt on the other side. Fleetingly, she wondered and somewhat hoped that he would use it on her. She had been through this before, her own people bringing her to the very brink of death, and she was not looking forward to going through it again. She had given up pleading with them, deciding that she would not sacrifice her dignity for these people once more. If she was to die by their collective hands, she would die with her pride intact.

She shook off those thoughts as Gregar came even closer. Her grey eyes, ablaze with anger, flashed up to him as he stood in front of her. He was talking to her, probably some overly dramatic speech about how she would pay for her crimes, but she wasn't hearing his words. She was focused with how close he was. How close that gun was.

She mustered up every last bit of strength she had as the prongs of the pain stick drew closer to her. She cried out involuntarily, but stiffened her body with all of her resolve. She then grabbed hold of the handle, using both hands to flip it around and twist it out of his loose grip. She used the butt of it to smack him across the face, the impact throwing him to the ground and giving her the few seconds she needed to whip it around and use the tool on him. She couldn't help but feel pleasure at his screams, as he had been the voice calling for her to suffer more throughout this whole ordeal. Before he had time to recover, she reached down and grabbed the gun from its holster at his side, aiming it directly at his head.

"This ends now," she called out in her most commanding voice. "You will either free me, or I will start killing people. Starting with you." She cocked the trigger to reinforce her threat.

Gregar brought himself to his knees, holding his hands out, palms up. "Then may the ancestors guide my path back to the family you stole from me so long ago."

Vala furrowed her brow, unable to recall the deaths of his family members. "What are you talking about?"

"I am not surprised that among the many lives you stole from our village that my family would fade to the back of your mind. They were among the first. Punishment for trying to aid Adria in the rescue of her daughter."

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push the involuntary memory from the front of her mind.

_Gregar's head snapped up from his reading chair as a very disheveled and distraught Vala burst into his home. He gently lifted his daughter from his lap, where she had been snuggled up while he read to her in an attempt to ease her fears, then rose to face the panting young woman still in his doorway, her back pressed against the closed door._

_"Happy ancestors! Vala, where have you been?" he asked as he eased his arm across her shoulders._

_"I've been running and hiding for days on end...Please, Gregar, you must help me," she pleaded as she wrapped her arms even tighter around her chest under her cloak. "They have Mother! She tried to help me escape and we were running and running..." she paused, tears drifting down her cheeks, "but they captured her."_

_"That must be why she never came to us at the meeting point," he muttered to himself, and then continued at her questioning eyes, "Zelene and I were waiting to guide her to the Chappa'ai, for you both to escape. I was able to use my position as one of the Village Elders to gather the necessary information to find and free you. Adria insisted on going in alone."_

_"She wouldn't have wanted to risk your getting caught," Vala added. "She knew what Qetesh would do to you and your family." She turned to face him, chin held high as her cold eyes began to glow. "She knew the punishment for defying her God." She lifted her hand from under her cloak, the ribbon device wrapped around it, and aimed it at the toddler he had just been comforting. _

"No!" Vala cried out, releasing herself from her memories as her own tears fell, an involuntary shiver crawling up her spine from the cold that she always felt after recalling Qetesh's horrific deeds. "That wasn't me. It was the demon."

"And yet here you stand before us all with my life at your fingertips, proving to us that the demon is within you still," he challenged.

"No, here I stand before you, trying to survive." She straightened her aim, which had faltered under the forced memories. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but I will if it means freedom."

He raised his head higher. "And I will gladly die if it means you are finally punished for your crimes."

She could see that he meant his words. He was willing to give his life in order to see this through. A quick glance around told her that there were probably many others who felt the same. She pressed her lips together tightly, trying to muster up the anger once more, but all she could find was sorrow as her hand began to shake. Could she really kill these people in order to free herself? Sacrifice their lives for hers, when they were only acting on the pain they felt of loved ones lost?

"Please," she begged in a scratchy voice overwhelmed with emotion, "don't make me do this. Just let me go and I promise you will never see my face again." She waited for his response, but his resolve only seemed to strengthen. "I am sorry for what Qetesh did to your family, to all these people. I tried to fight her, Gregar, I swear I did."

"And you failed," he hissed so that only she could hear.

Her eyes widened as she realized that he knew that she was no longer Qetesh. He knew her innocence, and yet he still called for her to be tortured and killed. No one else heard his words. Even if she could kill him, she would still have to kill many more innocent people in order to even have a chance at her freedom. She closed her eyes, trying to quiet the tears as they fell and she knelt down in front of the man who would be her murderer, as she knew that she was forfeiting her life for the sake of those who were currently waiting for their chance to beat her mercilessly.


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty One**

"So," Jack O'Neill rocked back and forth on his heels, shooting a glance to the archeologist beside him, "this is...different."

Daniel lifted his brows at the hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Yea, I guess retirement isn't looking that much different for you at this point, huh?" He shoved his hands in his pockets, staring ahead and the entryway to the Tok'ra tunnel before them. "Thank you for doing this, Jack. For trying to help us find her."

He shrugged. "Come on, Daniel. It's _Vala_. Of course I'm gonna help. Besides, I'm not technically retired yet. Technically," he reiterated with a slight nod of his head that said retirement was indeed coming.

"Yea, I heard that thing with Rush and the Icarius base is pretty big. They don't trust anyone else to oversee it all?"

"Well, I've been personally involving myself with Rush's little pet for awhile now. Video game was my idea," he added with a sense of pride. "Rush keeps saying he's getting close. And every time he says that, my retirement gets further away." Jack walked his fingers across the air in front of him to illustrate his point.

The smile on Daniel's lips faded as Astrild approached, with a very familiar face at her heels.

Jack let out an audible sigh as the far too familiar Tok'ra stood before him. "Anise. Long time no experiment on. How are things?" he asked mockingly.

Anise lowered her head with an amused smile. "It is good to see you as well, General O'Neill, Dr. Jackson. Astrild has informed me of your situation." She cut her eyes to Daniel. "I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your comrade. She meant a great deal to the Tok'ra."

"Good, then you know how very important it is that we find her. And that you help us," Daniel urged.

The Tok'ra woman frowned, giving a sideways glance to Astrild. "Yes, the High Council has been informed of your request for assistance in this matter. Aside from the information we have already given you, we are uncertain as to how you wish us to offer you further aid."

"Ships, Anise," Jack stated bluntly. "We need more ships to scan more planets for her. How many can you offer?"

Astrild let out a humorless laugh at this. "You wish us to assist you in searching every planet in this galaxy for Vala? The probability that we would find her--"

"We've narrowed down the possible locations," Daniel interrupted. "We just don't have enough ships to cover them before..." His voice trailed off, unwilling to entertain the possibility of being too late.

"We're on a bit of a time crunch," Jack finished for him, "So how many ships can you offer us and how soon?"

Anise shook her head sadly. "I am afraid we cannot offer any, General O'Neill. Our fleet is currently split between aiding you in your efforts to rid the galaxy of any more followers of the Ori and hunting down the goa'uld and Lucian Alliance that are causing problems. The very few ships that remain are here to protect the Tok'ra home world lest we be attacked. I am sorry, but we have done all we can."

"No you haven't," Daniel's voice was full of venom and cut through the tense air between them.

"What more can we possibly do, Dr. Jackson?" Anise asked, her hands held out pleadingly. "Would you have us sacrifice the safety and well being of planets full of people in order to save Vala?"

"I would have you take responsibility for what you've done."

"What we have done?" Astrild asked incredulously. "You are the ones that allowed her to go back to that planet even after I warned you! You knew the risk as well as she did and you chose to let her go back. Back to a planet full of people who wanted her blood."

He took an intense step forward, causing Jack's arm to come across his chest. "Blood that _you_--the Tok'ra--gave them a taste for. If you hadn't abandoned her there to begin with...she was scared and alone and you left her there to die. And why? Because she refused to be your guinea pig? She had been through enough and you are the ones who threw her back to the wolves!"

"Alright, Daniel," Jack eased the man back, shocked to see the rage behind those blue eyes. He had thought he was the only one special enough to get that reaction out of Daniel. "Why don't we head back and give them some time to gather their resources?"

Jack nodded to the Tok'ra before them, hoping his eyes conveyed the promise that he would be back. Daniel allowed him to lead him back to the gate, albeit with a seething silence accompanying them along the desert trek. Luckily the rings weren't too far away from the gate that Jack was now dialing.

"You know I was right," Daniel finally said.

"Yea," Jack squinted his eyes as the connection to Earth's gate formed before them. He was staring down at his IDC transmitter, trying to gather his thoughts before finally punching in his personal code. "I probably would have said it myself."

"Then why--"

"Because, Daniel, I depend on you to be the bigger person sometimes. The diplomat. I'm not used to defusing situations with you. It's supposed to be the other way around. I tell them off and you sweet talk them into giving us what we want."

"Be realistic, Jack. They aren't going to help us."

The hopefully-soon-to-be-retired General slowly walked towards the gate after his transmitter gave him the okay to go through. He hoped retirement would keep him from having to make tough decisions like the one he was about to make now. "I am. And realistically, I'm starting to think you're too close to the situation."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Daniel asked as he rushed after his former team leader.

"It means I need your head clear, and as long as she's missing, I don't think it will be." He nodded to the gate. "Come on."

He followed, blood boiling even more on the other side of the event horizon as they stepped through to Earth. "Don't you give me that crap, Jack! Anytime _any_ of us went missing, your head wasn't clear either! You were willing to do anything to save us, just like we are with her! Do _not_ try to pull me off of this!"

Jack smacked the hat he now held in one hand against the other as he stared up at the briefing room window. "I don't think I'm going to have any say in this," he said bitterly as he gestured to the scene playing out above them.

Richard Woolsey had one hand on Colonel Sheppard's chest as he tried to ease the tension in the room. "Now let's all just take a deep breath and consider all of our options."

"What options!" Sheppard spat back as he gestured to the three IOA members standing at the other end of the briefing room table. "_They_ aren't giving us any!"

"This is one person," the French IOA representative pointed out, "who is not even from Earth and you are asking us to expend all of our resources to find her. It is inconceivable!"

General Landry sneered at the man as he responded slowly and heatedly. "This one person is a member of this facility, whether she is from Earth or not. And we are not in the habit of leaving our people behind."

"Still," the Chinese representative spoke up, "you must see the position we are in. If we allow you to continue to use our ships and the Atlantis puddle jumpers to search for her, we are leaving Earth vulnerable. And with a possible Wraith attack hanging over our heads, that is simply not something we can do."

"You know, I find it funny that you guys were A-okay with doing whatever it took to find her when the Trust was behind this," Colonel Mitchell leaned forward from his position at the table, "but for some reason, you don't find her to be enough of a security risk now. Why is that?"

"Because," Sheppard asked with disgust, "she isn't any kind of security risk if she's dead." He cut his eyes back to the IOA representatives. "Isn't that right?"

"I know, Sheppard, I just want to hear them say it." Cameron opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly closed it as he took notice of his stunned teammate standing in the doorway.

Jack looked back and forth between those in the briefing room, and Daniel, whom they were all staring at with sympathy and regret. "Sorry to crash your party here," he announced as he walked into the room and pulled up beside Landry. "I was just wondering what in the hell was going on here. Anyone want to fill me in?" He looked to each of the IOA members individually. "Anyone?"

"The IOA has decided to pull the plug on our rescue efforts," Landry finally answered with a shake of his head. "They decided they can put a price on Miss Mal Doran's life and we were exceeding it."

Daniel shook himself, forcing himself out of his stunned silence and into action. "You can't be serious. We've hardly even scratched the surface of where she could be and you already want us to give up and do what? Cross our fingers that she turns up?"

The Chinese representative shook her head. "No, of course not. While the Atlantis team focuses on the possible pending Wraith attack and our ships stay in close proximity to Earth for its defense, the SGC is free to use its resources in any gate activity related to the effort of finding Miss Mal Doran."

Sheppard slammed his fist down on the table. "We don't have time to use the gates and you know that! If we don't find her soon, they are going to kill her. And believe me, you do _not_ want that to happen."

England's representative straightened. "Are you threatening us, Colonel Sheppard?"

"No, I'm promising," he responded quietly and dangerously.

"Alright, I think that's enough," Woolsey interjected before things got even further out of control. "Colonel Sheppard, why don't you and Colonel Mitchell go for a walk?"

Sheppard nodded slowly, though his eyes never left the IOA representatives that now held Vala's life in their hands.

Woolsey sighed as the two men left, feeling some of the tension in the room dissolve with their absence. "Dr. Jackson, perhaps you would like to assist us in trying to negotiate the use of Earth's resources to find Miss Mal Doran?"

"Oh," Jack blew the air from his lungs with the word, "I don't think that's a good idea, Dick."

Daniel shrugged at the questioning look Woolsey was giving him. "Because Jack knows that if the IOA doesn't allow us to find Vala in time, I might personally kill them myself." He shrugged again, as if his words were nothing, then followed the same path as the Colonels that had left before him.


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty Two**

She wasn't sure when she had passed out, not exactly. There had been a blinding pain across her temple and then there was sweet and peaceful darkness. She almost didn't want it to end. She was safe here. She remembered being safe here, in her own mind, when things became too much for her to take over the years. On those nights where she would wake up in a cold sweat, remembering the things Qetesh had done, or sometimes the things she had been forced to do in order to survive, she could just retreat within herself and the darkness was still waiting to comfort her like a warm blanket.

That warm blanket was being ripped from her now as the sounds around her started to make sense. The people were screaming. Some were barking out orders, others were crying out in pain. She hated hearing the sound of their pain. Their agonizing and sorrowful cries had haunted her dreams for years. Her brows furrowed as a familiar sound rang out. It was gunshots.

"She's over here!" she heard a familiar voice cry. "Vala, can you hear me?" She could feel him fiddling with the manacles.

She dared to open her eyes as much as she could through the swelling and let out a sob. "Daniel?"

"Shhh," he soothed as he eased her into his arms. "It's okay. We're taking you home. I need a medical team over here!"

The darkness took her over again. When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by bright white lights. Her body felt stiff and cold, except for one hand. She turned her head to the hand in question to find Daniel's wrapped around it, his head on his arm as he snored.

"That's the first sleep he's had since you disappeared, I think," Dr. Lam smiled warmly at her patient. "How are you feeling?"

Vala licked her dry lips. "Thirsty." She took the cup of water the doctor offered, choking slightly.

Daniel's head snapped up as he awoke to Vala's coughs. "Hi," he breathed as her coughing ceased. "How are you doing? Are you okay?" His brow was furrowed with concern.

A quick glance to her body told her that almost half of it was in a cast. "It would appear not," she joked but then gave him a sincere smile laced with happy tears that she was trying to hold in, "but it looks like I will be now. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me. For not giving up." She frowned, puzzled. "How did you find me? Gregar and his men took me through so many Stargates I could hardly keep track. How did you manage to track us down?"

"We didn't," he answered with a shrug.

"What do you mean? Someone told you where I was?"

"No, no one told us," he said as he leaned back in his chair, starting to seem annoyed.

She tried to force a smile through her confusion. "Then how did you know where to look? I mean, I remember that much. I was there, being tortured, and then you were there rescuing me."

Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "Vala, we didn't rescue you. And we're not going to."

Her tear filled eyes widened. "I don't understand," she said slowly.

He leaned forward, patting her arm genially. "You're still there, Vala. No one saved you. And honestly, it's not really looking like anyone is going to."

She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head in denial. "Daniel, you aren't making any sense." When she opened her eyes, Gregar was kneeling in front of her with a smirk upon his face. "You aren't Daniel."

"No," he agreed with a grin, "and you aren't rescued. But you are awake now, so shall we resume?"

Devastation washed over her as she watched him usher the next victim forward to claim their pound of her flesh. It was a dream. Her friends hadn't found her. And she was truly starting to doubt they would as the pain stick connected with her skin once more.


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Daniel felt the bed beside him shift, but wasn't quite ready to wake up. He had slept maybe a total of four hours in the past week since returning back to the SGC, and his body wasn't ready to concede with the few more he had managed to get tonight. He flipped over onto his stomach, content to ignore whoever it was that was trying to wake him up. He was fairly certain he was having a good dream, if he could only get back to it...

A dark curtain of hair draped over his face as he felt a woman's breath in his ear. "Did you know that you snore, darling?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Vala, not now."

She made a soft and exaggerated pouting noise. "But I've come so far, Daniel. Can't you spare me a few moments before I have to go back?"

His eyes snapped open as he realized that Vala was in his bed. Safe in his bed. He quickly flipped over, placing a hand on her shoulder as he gazed at her in awe. "How....when did you get back? Why didn't they call me?"

"Easy, dear. I only just got here. And you're the only that knows I'm here."

"Are you okay? What happened? We need to get you to the infirmary," he rushed out the words as if they were all one sentence.

"Not quite possible." She pulled the corners of her lips down as she lifted a brow. "You see, I'm not _really_ here." She placed her finger on the temple of his head before resting her hand upon it. "I'm here."

Realization hit him. This was the dream. "You aren't real."

"I'm only as real as you believe me to be, unfortunately. We're connected, remember?" She gave a wry grin. "Find it to be romantic now?"

He knew she was talking about the connection that had been formed by the goa'uld marriage bracelets and then enhanced by the Ancient communications device, but wasn't sure how that was relevant since the connection had worn off long ago. "So you are real? We're still connected somehow?"

Her face lit up eagerly. "Yes. We'll always be connected, I think. But I've always known that, haven't I? And you've always denied it."

He shook his head. "Now's not the time for that conversation. Tell me where you are."

She frowned. "You know where I am."

"No," he let out a breathy laugh, unable to believe their luck. "We scanned Kasina and the surrounding planets but we haven't been able to find you. Did you see the gate address when they moved you?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. But that's not what this is about, Daniel."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? If you know anything about where you are, we can save you! Just give me something to work with. What the people look like, any customs you've noticed, anything!"

She caressed his cheek. "You can't save me. That's not what this about."

"I don't understand," he pleaded quietly. "What is this about then?"

She softly pressed her lips to his, pulling back slightly to whisper, "This is about saying goodbye," before kissing him once more.

For a few blissful seconds, Daniel kissed her back before her words registered. He jerked away to find empty space before him, then the world faded around him and he found himself staring at the ceiling once more in his bed as if nothing had happened. He shot up quickly, knowing he needed help and just who to get it from.

He skidded to a halt in front of Sam's old lab, knowing he would be able to find her there. She and Bill had been working on ways to expand the field of the scanning devices so that the SG team members searching for Vala could walk through the gate, scan, and come back with no time wasted questioning any locals or going on long treks. Sure enough, she was sitting at the end of one of the work stations, her chin rested against her folded hands on the table.

She stretched with a yawn, noticing an agitated Daniel bouncing in her doorway. "Daniel...what's up?"

He rocked on his heels slightly, worried that he might sound crazy. He shook of the thought, knowing that what he had seen was real. He was really connected to Vala and that meant they could use that to find her. "I think I may have something."

Sam straightened. "With Vala? What did you find?"

He rushed forward. "The goa'uld marriage bracelets. The Kor'mak bracelets," he specified quickly.

She frowned. "What about them?"

"When Vala and I were connected by the bracelets, the Ancient communication device only enhanced that bond that the bracelets had already formed. We were connected even without them."

"Yea," she agreed, still not following. "The effects eventually wore off. Otherwise you both would have died when she was transported to the Ori galaxy."

"But that's the thing," he pressed on eagerly, the light back in his eyes. "We're still connected."

"What?" Sam shook her head. "How? And if that's the case, why are you still conscious?"

"Because the communications device didn't just strengthen the physical bond between Vala and I, it created a mental one. I've seen her."

She let out a slow and sympathetic breath. "Daniel, how do you know that has anything to do with the devices or any kind of connection they might have formed?"

"Because she said that we're still connected." He hated the look she was giving him. It wasn't only full of doubt, it was full of concern and overwhelming sympathy. "Don't look at me like that, Sam. After all the things we've seen and been through, you can't tell me I'm crazy."

She placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm not....I just..." She dropped her head, then looked back up at him with regret. "It's not possible, Daniel."

"How can you say that? We have no idea what the effects of using both devices could be. This connection could explain why I knew she wasn't dead when she was lost in the Ori galaxy. And why I know she isn't gone now," he urged. "It could be possible."

She sighed again. "I suppose on some remote level, yes. But from what we know of the devices and what they did to you and Vala, it doesn't seem likely. The effects were pretty immediate, Daniel. Maybe it was just a dream. Your subconscious's way of telling you not to give up."

Daniel dropped his head between his shoulders. He knew that Sam was making sense and that she was probably right. It was probably nothing more than a dream. "Yea, I'm sorry. It just..." he looked to the ceiling as he let out the breath he seemed to always be holding lately, "it felt so real."

He started to turn away but Sam gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "If you want to talk about it..."

"No, I'm okay."

"Can I ask you what she said to you? Your subconscious could be trying to tell you something important."

Daniel could feel the tears biting at his eyes as he responded quietly. "She said goodbye." Before Sam could offer anymore sympathy or words of comfort, he somberly left her office, deciding he would head to his own to go over the history of the Kasinans once more.


	35. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty Four**

Vala's own cries echoed in her head, almost as if she could somehow detach herself from the pain she was enduring as one of the countless victims of Qetesh's crimes struck her with the goa'uld pain stick once more. This particular victim had been torturing her for hours, sometimes with the stick, other times with her fists and feet. It seemed her anger was never ending. Vala was starting to wonder if this woman's anger would be her end. She relished in the idea, squeezing her eyes shut as she silently prayed for them to never open again. She had seen the sun rise and fall countless times, and there was still no sign of anyone from Stargate Command to save her. Her hope was waning and her injuries were getting more severe by the day. She was certain that all that awaited her at this point was a slow death that had probably already begun thanks to one of her many wounds.

She forced herself to take stock of her injuries once more. A few cracked ribs, maybe a few broken. Probably a concussion. One of her eyes was swollen shut. Her left arm was broken as well as a few fingers on that arm, though thankfully she was starting to lose feeling in it. She wasn't sure that was a good sign, but she would take whatever relief she could. She didn't think she had any internal bleeding, but might after this woman was finished with her. She screamed out again as the victim placed the pain stick to her neck, the involuntary flailing accompanying her cries only serving to magnify her injuries even further before she slipped into unconsciousness.

She wasn't sure how long she was out as she opened her eyes to the blaring white light around her. She pulled herself up right and was surprised to find that it didn't hurt. Looking down to her wrists, she could see that they were no longer chained. She could also see that she was no longer in the bloodied garb of Qetesh but back in her black SGC uniform. She looked up at a womanly figure approaching, the face of her visitor shadowed from the glaring light behind her. She felt her heart skip a beat as she recognized the form of the woman with her long flowing brown hair and warm smile.

"Mother?" she practically croaked.

"I'm afraid not," the familiar voice of the Orici responded as she knelt in front of Vala. "Hello, Mother."

Vala felt her whole body stiffen at those words. It was almost a kneejerk reaction after her many encounters with Adria. But Adria was long gone, she reminded herself. There was only one way she could be really reunited with her daughter. "Am I dead?"

The young woman shook her head as she beamed with pride. "You are far too strong to give in so soon, Mother."

She lowered her head, closing her eyes as she breathed sadly. "You can stop calling me that."

Her dark brown eyes shifted down, the sting of the words and the shame of deserving them sinking in. "You prefer that I call you Vala. You still do not think of me as your daughter."

"No, Adria was my daughter." She lifted her head to the image of the child in question. "I loved her very much. More than she knew. But you aren't her. She was destroyed by Morgan Le Fey. Or is still battling her somewhere or whatever happens to ascended beings. Which means you can't be real."

Her eyes sparkled with affection as she placed a hand on her cheek. "Are you certain you understand what it is that transpired when Morgan Le Fey attacked me?"

Doubt flickered through her mind as she thought about this. Daniel had explained to her about Anubis and Oma-whatever-her-name-was. He said that they would be forever locked in an eternal battle, preventing Anubis from causing anymore harm as all he would be able to do is fight Oma. "How are you here?"

"That is not important. What is important is that I am here with you, Mother." She wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly around the neck. "I have missed you so very much. I could not allow you to endure all of this alone." Adria pulled back so that she could look Vala in the eye. "Or to give up, as I know you are close to doing. You must hold on, Mother."

"For what?" Vala asked with a humorless laugh, still not convinced that this wasn't just a means for her to survive this dilemma psychologically.

Adria took her mother's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly. "I will show you why you must continue to find strength, Mother."

The white light surrounding them shivered slightly and shapes began to form around them. Vala stared around in wonder as she found herself back in one of the familiar corridors of the SGC. Looking around, she knew that she was right outside one of the guest quarters. Adria gestured for her to walk inside and she obeyed. Samantha was curled up on the bed, Jack's arms wrapped around her as she cried.

"I failed her," she sobbed into his shirt.

"Shh....you're doing everything you can, Sam. We all are. We'll find her," he assured her as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

"But what if we're already too late?" Her reddened eyes finally looked up desperately into his. "You heard what Astrilld said, Jack. When she saved her, they had beaten her to the brink of death. It's been over a week..."

"Hey, Vala's tough. She's like a cat, nine lives and all that." He started counting on his free hand. "She must have at least a dozen left."

Samantha couldn't help but laugh through her tears. "You're right. She wouldn't give up on us."

Vala's head dropped in guilt. She had given up. How could she not? She turned as she felt her daughter's hand on her shoulder. "Where are we going now?"

"To see Dr. Jackson," Adria responded as she nodded for Vala to follow her. "He feels a great deal of guilt for what transpired on Kasina. He feels that if you had not saved him, you might still have your freedom."

She couldn't help but be concerned. "He's in really bad shape then?"

Adria gestured to the door to the right of them. "See for yourself."

Vala rounded the corner and did a double take. "What? How did we get here so fast?" She took in the scene before her, rolling her eyes. "Oh yes, Daniel looks _so_ torn up right now. He can hardly contain himself."

She crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. The archeologist was sitting at his workstation, glasses on top of a pile of papers and his chin resting upon his hand as he snored. This was part of his routine! Work, work, work, until he finally passes out in the middle of working only to wake up and start working some more!

"I thought you said he was overwhelmed with guilt. Adria?" She spun around, noticing that her daughter was nowhere in sight now. "You know, if you're trying to rekindle this whole mother daughter relationship, you might want to start by _not walking away when I am talking to you young lady!_"

"Who are you talking to?" Daniel asked as he stifled a yawn. He rubbed his hands over his face and then put his glasses back on, reaching right for the empty cup of coffee next to him.

"You--you can hear me?" she asked weakly, looking around behind her.

Daniel's shoulders slumped as he realized this must just be another trick of his subconscious mind. "If I close my eyes and ask really nicely, maybe I won't anymore."

Vala was extremely wounded by this. "I thought dreams were supposed to be happy. If this is my mind's way of giving me hope to survive, I have to say it's doing a very poor job of it." She wiped at the tears drifting from her eyes. "I'd be more than happy to go, but I have no idea how I even got here, so...."

He shifted his jaw. "Wait a minute, this is my mind, not yours. You're the hallucination here."

"I am not!" she argued with a stamped foot. "I imagined you first, fair and square! Now say something inspiring like Sam did so I can move on to the next! Or at least so Adria will come back. Or something."

He folded his arms on the desk in front of him and then buried his head in between them. "My mind really is grasping at straws here."

"Why do you say that?" Jack asked from the doorway.

Vala grinned brightly, starting to believe that maybe this was all real somehow. "General O'Neill! Can you hear me too?" Her smile withered as he walked straight through her, unphased by her words or her presence.

"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself," Daniel replied, his words muffled as his head was still buried in his arms. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," the general answered as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Sam thought I should come by and check on you. And here I find you. Talking to yourself."

"Oh, believe me," Daniel humorlessly laughed, "that's not as crazy as I'm getting lately. I _hear_ her, Jack. It's like she's right here talking to me."

"Look," Jack started gently, "you haven't really slept since Vala disappeared. You should try getting some rest."

Vala had crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the exchange before her. "Huh. If this were really a dream, Daniel would be deprived of sleep for much better reasons than work." She ran her tongue over her teeth as she thought it over. "Much more naked reasons...."

Daniel couldn't help but let out a laugh at this. "Sorry," he apologized to Jack.

"She say something funny, I take it?" he asked as he looked around the room in question, almost as if he was expecting to see her. "Now you've got me feeling like I'm being watched."

"We must go, Mother," Adria called from the door.

Vala tilted her head, her sad eyes boring into Daniel, trying to will him to look up at her. "Is any of this real?"

"No," Daniel answered.

"I didn't think so," she agreed as she backed away. She stopped just outside of the doorway, holding onto the frame.

"We're not going to find her, are we?" Daniel asked Jack as he finally pulled his head from his arms. His eyes widened as he just barely made out Vala's profile as she disappeared around the doorframe. He jumped to his feet and ran to the door, skidding to a stop as he looked around for any sign of her and falling against the doorframe in defeat when he didn't see her. "I'm really losing my mind."

Jack placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You just need some sleep. We'll find her, Daniel."


	36. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty Five**

Daniel had reached the point to where he loathed the idea of sleep. He stood outside his temporary quarters on base, which throughout the years had grown to be more and more permanent regardless of the house he owned, and just stared at the door. He knew the General was right to order him to get some sleep and had willingly made his way to his bed, not at all appreciating the firm stare coming from Teal'c when those orders came. The Jaffa's eyes all but promised to strong arm him here if necessary, and Daniel had started to wonder if he was clasping his hands behind his back in his trademark stoic way or if he had been hiding a zat back there.

Sighing, he used his keycard to open the door, his inner musings about his more common lodgings causing him to wonder why they didn't just remove the security device and call the room his like they had done with Vala.

Vala. He threw a slight glance down the hall to where her room still remained to be hers. He wondered how much longer that would be before the IOA took that away. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the thought of that group of suits pretending like they knew what the hell the Stargate personnel faced day in and day out. If they really had any inkling, he thought as his door clicked to a close, they would be more than willing to expend every resource necessary to find Vala.

It had been two and a half weeks since she had sacrificed herself to the Kasinans in order to save the SG teams being held prisoner. He was starting to fear the worst. Thinking back to that horrific moment when he use of the goa'uld healing device on him sealed her fate, he knew that she had known the worst was coming. A chill shot up his spine as he heard the lie in the last words she had spoken to him.

_"Go, Daniel. I'll be fine," Vala tried to assure him._

_His blue eyes bore into hers as he shook his head. "Don't make me say goodbye to you, Vala. Whatever you have planned, it won't work." His features softened as he begged her, "Please let me help you."_

_"This isn't goodbye, Daniel," she replied warmly. "That's not what this was about."_

She would never say goodbye. That's how he knew her first visit and the ones after were all in his head and nothing more. They weren't connected. At least, not because of any devices. They were connected because of who she was and everything she had done for him. Everything he had never had the courage to thank her for.

He took a deep breath and began to slowly undress, waiting for the moment when she would appear. Maybe he would tell her now, thank her for bringing the light back into his life. He couldn't help but laugh at himself humorlessly.

"You're talking about pouring your heart out to a hallucination. Perfect," he muttered to himself as he crawled into bed.

It had gotten to the point to where he saw her even when he was awake. Who would have guessed that losing Vala would cause him to lose his mind?

_Not lost,_ he corrected himself inwardly as he squeezed his eyes shut. _Not yet_, a small voice in the back of his mind added. He wasn't ready to address that voice, not yet. She was missing for just about three weeks when the Trust had kidnapped her and wiped her memory, and she had still managed to survive. Hell, she had even survived in the Ori galaxy when all of the odds were definitely against her, big super villains in the sky watching her every move and all.

He wasn't sure when he drifted off, but he could see her now, so he must have found sleep somehow. She was standing a few yards away from him. She was surrounded by darkness and looked confused and pained. When her eyes locked onto his, the darkness seemed to melt away as her smile lit up her face. Whatever it was that she was thinking or feeling before just vanished with the warmth he felt at her saying his name. She just kept saying it over and over and over again.

He began to notice that there was a slight change to the way she was saying it. Each time, his name became more intense and her voice became more frantic until she was finally screaming for him, reaching her arms out to him as she pleaded for his help. He tried to move to get to her, but found that something was holding him in place. When he looked to see what it was, he found the members of the IOA holding his arms, pulling him further away from her.

She was screaming for him now, this time in pain. He could see the flames as they crept up her jeans. He was screaming now too, tearing at the people holding him back, desperately trying to get to her. The raven hair held in pigtails began to curl up and wither away as the flames licked at her shoulders. Still she cried out for him, and still he struggled to get to her, until the flames finally encompassed her and there was no more.

"NO!" Daniel was about to shoot out of bed, but he felt a large and firm hand clamped around his arm. Without thinking, he made to swing, but Teal'c's other hand caught his fist before it was able to connect to his target: the Jaffa's face.

The warrior gently lowered his friend's fist to the bed. "Are you alright, Daniel Jackson?"

He swallowed hard, struggling to find his voice to answer. "Yea. Just...bad dream."

"You must not give up hope, Daniel Jackson. Vala Mal Doran is a cunning and battle seasoned warrior. She will prevail."

Daniel laughed darkly. "Tell that to my subconscious and then maybe I'll get a decent night's rest." He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap at you. I just...I need to find her, Teal'c."

The understanding in Teal'c's eyes was more than Daniel could understand, as he had no recollection of the fifty years they had all shared together on the Odyssey. "I believe we will, Daniel Jackson," he assured his friend quietly.


	37. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty Six**

"I wish to see the prisoner," Amotis announced to the guard posted to watch over Vala. "I wish to face the murderer who stole my fiancé from me."

Vala couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. Funny how he kept viewing himself as the victim in this scenario regardless of the fact that she was the one chained and being beaten daily. She wondered if she would be able con him into thinking there was still a happily ever after for them if he were to free her, but somehow she doubted it.

She couldn't help but wonder why he had waited for the cover of night to confront her. Usually once night had fallen, the people chose to leave her be, wanting the spotlight of the sun to show her suffering to the crowds.

"Come to beat me some more?" she asked, her voice rich with contempt. "Or have you come to grovel at my feet once again? Funny how you don't seem to be shedding any tears now that the Tau'ri aren't around to witness it."

He knelt in front of her, cutting his eyes back to the guard. He quickly grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head closer to his. "I have come to say goodbye. You took Vala from me before I was given that chance."

"Well according to you Vala isn't home anymore, so what's there to say goodbye to?" she challenged.

He released his grip on her, instead settling his hands on either cheek as his eyes searched hers.

"You still aren't sure." She watched him carefully, wondering which side he was leaning towards.

"Is it better to believe a lie if it is easier than facing the truth?" he whispered, still searching her face for answers to questions he dared not ask out loud.

Her demeanor hardened at this, realizing that even after all this time and after all she had endured at his hand, she would never be able to convince him of the truth. He was too comfortable living in denial with a clear conscience. "That depends on which you value more: the truth, or revenge."

He licked his lips. "I have always valued the truth. But I could never betray our people."

"Will you at least do one thing for me? After I'm gone?" Vala asked, her lips trembling as she started to accept her fate.

Amotis nodded gravely, not daring to look up at her.

"The honorable burial I am promised once I am proven innocent...don't let them go through with it. I want to be taken home."

His expression changed to one of confusion as he continued to stare at the ground. "You mean to the Tau'ri?"

"Yes, take my body back to the Tau'ri. There's a device with my personal effects that will guarantee they let you through. You must use it or you'll be killed once you reach the other side. I can show you how to use it," her voice choked in her own throat as she thought of her friends. "And tell my friends....tell them I love them all very much. And I'm so sorry to have caused them any pain."


	38. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

"Any word?" Daniel asked Sam as he took a seat at the briefing table.

She shook her head sadly. "We scanned the surrounding planets for any sign of her subcutaneous transmitter, but we came up empty. I was hoping you might have some more intel for us."

"I've been trying to look into their history, who their trading partners are..." he trailed off as he tapped his pen against the table in frustration. "Without their help, there's not much I can do. They refuse to talk to us at all until the trial is over." He let out a sad laugh. "Lot of good that'll do us then."

Sam straightened as she breathed in deep. "Yea, Cam filled me in on that."

"Teal'c's been checking with his Jaffa contacts to see what they know of these people, and Landry threatened that Amotis guy with all out hell," Mitchell chimed in from the doorway, "but nothing. They won't budge."

Before they could continue their discussion, the siren went off, alerting them to the unscheduled offworld activation even before Walter's voice came over the loud speaker.

"That might be Bra'tak," Cam guessed as he gestured for the others to follow him. "Maybe he's got good news."

They all followed the leader of SG1 into the Control Room, none of them showing much hope that there would be any news at this point.

"Whatcha got Walter?" Cam asked as he patted him on the back and nodded to Teal'c as he came into view.

Walter's head turned to meet the rest of SG1 before he responded with disbelief. "It's Vala's IDC."

"Open the iris," General Landry commanded from behind SG1. He was about to suggest they head down to the gateroom to greet her when they all started rushing past him. He turned his attention to the window, watching the scene below him unfold from above.

Cam skidded to a stop as the group came through the gate. They were carrying a makeshift stretcher, with a shrouded body laying across it. A very somber Amotis brought up the rear.

Sam's eyes widened as she made out the lock of black hair sticking out from under the sheet that covered the body from head to toe. She turned to Daniel, whose face was painted with grief and pain and denial all in the same moment.

"Greetings, SG1," Amotis began, his voice cracking. "The trial has been concluded. We have found Vala Mal Doran to be innocent. She was no longer possessed by the demon, as you claimed."

"Was?" Cam could barely get out the word.

Amotis bowed his head at the unspoken question. "It was her final wish to be buried amongst the Tau'ri."

General Landry had rushed down to the gateroom after the group had come through like a funeral procession. "Get the medical team here, now!" he barked to the nearest airmen. He turned back to Amotis, his eyes ablaze. "I warned you what would happen if you went through with this. Airmen, take them to a holding cell. I'll be back to question him later."

As Amotis and the others were seized, Dr. Lam and her medical team rushed in. Two of them took hold of the stretcher, while Dr. Lam lifted the sheet to reveal Vala's lifeless face. She lifted it further, though the sheet kept SG1 from sharing the horrific view. She dropped it quickly, covering her hand over her mouth as she looked at Amotis and his colleagues in horror.

Sam had started to move closer, tears spilling down her cheeks after seeing that it truly was Vala. She stopped as Carolyn held up a hand to her. She gave her a pleading look, but Carolyn merely shook her head.

"Sam, you don't want to see her like this, trust me." She turned back to the members of her medical team. "Take her back to the infirmary." She gave SG1 a remorseful look, one that said she was doubtful there was anything she could do for Vala, before following her team.

"If I may," Amotis began as an airmen tried to lead him away. "I would ask that I am able to say my final farewell to Vala. Then I will cooperate with whatever it is that you ask of me."

Before anyone could respond, Daniel had unexpectedly tackled Amotis, throwing him down to the ground just below the ramp as his hand clamped around his neck. "You son of a bitch! You kill her and then you ask to kiss her goodbye! She was innocent! She was _innocent!_" he practically growled as he slammed Amotis down over and over again.

He struggled against the arms that were pulling him away from Amotis, trying with all his might to get his hands back on him so that he could mount his own revenge.

"Easy, Jackson!" Cam grunted as he fought to pull Daniel away and to control his own emotions. "He tried to help us, remember?"

Daniel stopped struggling, sagging in Cam and Teal'c's arms and covering his face as the tears began to spill over. They eased him to his knees. Sam kneeled in front of him, placing a comforting hand on his arm as she wiped at her own tears. He pulled her into a hug, bawling into her shirt. She wrapped her hand around his head, holding him to her shoulder and looking to the others. Both Cam and Teal'c were tearing up, and she reached out for them. They both returned her embrace, and the four remaining members of SG1 sat in the middle of the gateroom as they mourned the loss of their friend and teammate.


	39. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

Dr. Lam knocked on the door to General Landry's office lightly. He had his head in his hands and she bit her lip, resisting the urge to treat him more like her father than the commander of Stargate Command.

He looked up, his eyes heavy. "Come in. Shut the door."

She leaned against the door until it clicked shut. "I finished the preliminary examination." She swallowed hard, trying to remain professional despite her red rimmed eyes. "I can do the autopsy whenever you like, just let me know."

He tapped his pen against his desk. "Apparently, Vala's people believe that anything other than the ritualistic bath is desecrating the body."

"Does it really matter what they think?" She couldn't hide the contempt in her voice.

He shook his head. "No, but it does matter what Vala would think on the situation." He looked down at his desk. "I don't think it's appropriate to ask her teammates just yet. What were the results of the preliminary examination?"

Carolyn couldn't fight her angry tears. "She was beaten to death. They showed her no mercy."

Landry looked up, hearing the pain in his daughter's voice. He knew that she considered Vala a friend, though with Vala's offworld travels the two weren't as close as Vala and Sam were. But she had partaken in quite a few of their girls' nights both on and off base. He stood up, gesturing for her to come closer.

She bit her lip, shaking her head. "It isn't right. She didn't deserve this, Dad."

He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing a consoling hand on her back. "I know. And believe me, I plan to make the people who did this to her pay."

"It won't bring her back," she whispered.

He squeezed her tighter. "I know."


	40. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

"Knock, knock."

Daniel looked up from the picture frame he had been staring at for hours to see Sam, red eyed, and standing in the doorway. "Come in."

"What are you looking at?" she asked softly as she came to his side at his desk. A sad smile crossed her lips at the photo he was holding. It was one Vala had added to his desk of the whole team, along with Jack, Landry, and Walter. It had been taken when they were celebrating Cam's 200th trip through the gate. Vala was standing between herself and Daniel, beaming proudly with her arm around each of them.

He licked his lips, trying to formulate the words in his mind. "She gave this to me that Christmas. You know what she told me? 'Photos aren't about only remembering heartbreak, darling, they're about remembering happy times too.' I guess she was wrong. At least in this case."

Sam wasn't sure what to say. She settled for rubbing her hand up and down his back consolingly as they both sat there in silence, staring at the picture. She found herself staring at Vala and Daniel together. Even at that early point, they had both become so comfortable with each other. As long as she had known Daniel and as close as they had become over the years, she had known right from the start that there was no touching the bond he had formed with Vala. She had never seen him like that with anyone. Vala brought out his snarky side, but she also lightened the dark side of him that had formed years ago.

"You really loved her," she stated quietly, hardly noticing that she had said the words aloud.

He sat the picture down gently, locking his jaw to keep the emotions from spilling out. "It's a little late for that now, Sam."

"I'm sorry," she immediately said, then shook her head. "Actually, I'm not. You don't have to answer, Daniel, because I know you." She paused as the tears began to form. "And I'm just glad that you did. That you had her in your life and that she was able to do so much for you that...that we couldn't."

He shook his head. "She'd laugh if she heard you say that." He looked to the ceiling tiles, blinking away the tears. "All those years, and she never had a clue how much..." He cut himself off with another shake of his head. "It doesn't matter now. She's gone and she'll never know. There's so much..." He let out a shaky breath. "I should have said so much."

"Tell her now," Sam whispered. "Maybe...maybe where ever she is, she can still hear you."

"Somehow I doubt that," he responded darkly.

"Maybe it will help you then." She paused as he nodded his agreement. "Just...give me a little while with her first. There's something I need to do."

Daniel looked up at her curiously. "What do you need to do?"

"I owe her something," was all she said before giving his arm a gentle squeeze and leaving him, still staring at the picture that would remind him of this new loss.


	41. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

Dr. Lam stood in the doorway to the morgue, her arms crossed against her chest as she blocked Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter's way. "This is pointless, Sam."

"I have to try," the Colonel responded with a sad shrug. "She deserves at least that."

"She deserves to not have her best friend see and remember her this way," Carolyn pressed. "It probably won't even work. And trust me, Sam, you don't want to see what they did to her."

Sam knew that Carolyn was right. She could see the haunted look the doctor know wore, almost as if the image of Vala's beaten corpse was hiding behind her round brown eyes. "You're right," she agreed quietly as she palmed the goa'uld healing device in her hand, "I don't want to see her like this. But more than that, I don't want Daniel to see her like this. And you won't be able to stop him from coming in here."

Carolyn dropped her head and then let out a sad laugh. "You know what Vala would say to that."

Sam smiled weakly. "She'd probably suggest we zat him." She paused, leaning against the wall opposite the morgue. "You know, she was always nagging him to get some rest, especially through the whole thing with finding the Ark of Truth. He'd spend days in his office and she would always be there reminding him to eat or get some sleep. More like threatening him with what she would do if he didn't. I actually caught her on her way to his office once, zat in hand with this damned determined look on her face. I nearly had to wrestle it out of her hands."

The doctor couldn't help but laugh, but it died off quickly. "He hasn't come here yet."

"I think he's still in denial," she admitted. "He's still just sitting in his office, looking through his notes on the Kasinans. Almost like he'll find something in there that can save her." She cut her eyes back up to the female blocking her path. "When he figures out that he can't, when he finally lets go, he going to want to see her. I know you weren't here at the time, but he spent the few days Sha're was kept here in this room with her, talking to her. Please, Carolyn."

She nodded, slowly stepping out of the way. "Okay. But I'm staying with you. You shouldn't be alone for this."

Samantha gave Carolyn's arm a gentle squeeze of thanks before her shaky hand clamped around the door knob. She tried to call forth all of her medical and military training, detach herself from the situation as she entered to chilled room. Try to forget that her best friend was now reduced to the body laid out on the metal table. She shook her head slightly as her fingers clasped the corner of the sheet covering Vala, realizing that somewhere along the line, Vala had become her best friend.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Carolyn's voice cut into her musings.

She hadn't realized she had been hesitating and gave the doctor a look that held all the resolve she could muster as she pulled the sheet away. A small sob escaped her lips as she looked at her friend. She could hardly recognize her for all the bruising and swelling. She felt Dr. Lam's hand on her shoulder and appreciated the strength and comfort the woman was trying to pass to her.

Dr. Lam could see the question in Sam's eyes. "I ran a DNA test. It's definitely her. I'm sorry."

She fought against the tears welling in her eyes, knowing she would need to have a clear head to do this. She smoothed some of the hair on the side of Vala's head, tucking it behind her ear to get a better look at the damage done. "She was always so beautiful," she heard herself saying out loud. "She wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. Her looks were too important to her," she added with a soft laugh that turned into another sob. She sighed, steeling herself with all the resolve she could as she lifted the hand device over her friend's battered face. "I can do this."

Carolyn nodded. "Just don't blame yourself if it doesn't work. The technology wasn't meant for this. At least, from what I've read of it I don't think it was."

"It's similar enough to the sarcophagus technology that it might," Sam said, voicing her hopes more than her certainties as the device lit up, trying to ignore the flinch that she could have sworn came from her friend as the warmth of the light hit her face.

Hours later, Sam was heading to the commissary to look for Cam and Teal'c. The usually loud room was quiet of the chatter and movement that was commonplace. SG personnel from all walks of the base seemed to have gathered there in quiet vigil to mourn the loss of one of their own. She tapped the goa'uld device against her hand, only now noticing that she had failed to return it to the storage room. She was about to turn around to make her way there when she felt a soft hand on her back.

Teyla bowed her head to the Colonel. "Hello Samantha."

Carter pressed her lips together tightly, trying to stop the flood of emotion that was rising at the sympathy in the Athosian's voice and eyes. "It's good to see you, Teyla. I thought you guys were on your way back to Atlantis."

"The IOA concluded their interviews yesterday, and we were set to return to Atlantis this morning," she explained. "However, given the…upsetting circumstances, we wished to stay for a few days longer. I am truly sorry for this great loss, Samantha."

"Thank you," was all she could say. After seeing what she had, she felt like she was on the edge of breaking and knew that if this conversation continued, she just might. Luckily, she spotted Cam and Teal'c sitting with Jack, Sheppard, and Ronon. "Let's go join everyone else," she suggested.

Teyla bowed her head in agreement, understanding the former commander of Atlantis wished to remain strong. As a leader herself, she understood the sentiment and followed the Colonel to the table where the rest of their teammates sat in silence.

Sam took her seat next to Jack, who immediately gave her hand a gentle squeeze underneath the table. She noticed the curious look Teal'c was giving the goa'uld healing device she had sat on the table before her. She lifted her shoulder as she tried to explain in as few words as possible, "Vala always wanted to look her best. I didn't think she'd want to make the exception this time."

Cam shook his head slowly. "Nope, our princess would want to look just like that: a princess. Has…have we…decided anything about her funeral?" he forced the words out, the guilt causing them to weigh heavily upon his tongue. They had had so many near misses since he took the lead of SG1, and he had assumed this would just be another one. He had always thought they would get their girl back. But if his Grandma was right, there was no retrieving her from where she is now.

Jack cleared his throat into the silence that followed the question. "Landry was hoping you guys would have more of an idea as to how to proceed. Amotis informed us of the Kasinan burial traditions, but we weren't sure how to…do the rest."

All eyes seemed to turn to Sam. She shook her head, her eyes wide as she searched her mind for the answers. "I don't know. We never really talked about that."

"Dr. Lam said her people were going to take care of the ritual bath thing but Jackson might have a better idea as to what Vala would want," Cam suggested then furrowed his brow at Sam's fervently shaking her head at him. "We've got to ask at some point, Sam."

"It is likely that Vala Mal Doran discussed the various burial traditions of other cultures with Daniel Jackson," Teal'c agreed.

"Just…not now," she pleaded. "He's not quite there yet."

"Fair enough," Cam concurred finally. He frowned as he noticed Colonel Reynolds heading to their table with a stuffed animal in his hand. "Reynolds. What's with the giraffe?"

The leader of SG3 seemed to squeeze the animal in hand a little harder as he tried to respond, his downward shifted eyes solemn. "Um…it was Vala's. A few weeks ago, I was telling her about how my kid was having nightmares. She leant this to me for her, but made me swear on my life I would give it back to her when the nightmares stopped. She was already…" he stopped himself. "I just, I thought she should have it back. It seemed to mean a lot to her."

Jack reached out, taking the small stuff animal into his hands. He could feel the heat rushing to his face as he tried to mask what he was feeling. "We'll make sure it gets to her. Thank you, Colonel."

Reynolds gave a weak salute before leaving the table to join his own team not far away.

"What's the deal with giraffe?" Sheppard asked, speaking for the first time since he had received the news.

"I won it for her," Jack responded as he stared at the animal in question, which he had sat on the table in front of him. "Not long after she joined Stargate Command. One of those machines with the claws that are usually rigged to steal your money. Spent twenty bucks trying to get that damned thing."

"I remember that," Cam reflected. "It was one of the first times she came with us all on a team outing. We were playing laser tag," he shrugged at Sheppard's look of disbelief. "Teal'c's idea. She was more fascinated with that machine than with the game itself. She was like a kid."

The Atlantis and SG1 team members sat in a grief filled silence, each now thinking of the lighthearted way Vala looked at the world, regardless of the way the world had treated her.


	42. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty One**

Daniel shoved his hands securely in his pockets as he saw Amotis heading away from the morgue. He thought of Cam's words and knew the colonel had a point. In their many conversations with the Kasinan since her disappearance from their land, it had seemed that Amotis had truly wanted to help them find Vala.

"Dr. Jackson." Amotis bowed his head in greeting.

Daniel nodded in acknowledgment. "I owe you an apology, for my behavior earlier. I know you tried to help her, and I know she would have taken comfort in that."

Amotis looked up, his dark brown eyes steady as he met Daniel's. "I did everything in my power to save her. I think in time, you will see that." With that, he bowed his head once more and brushed past Daniel.

Daniel locked his jaw, clenching his fists in his pockets to keep from hitting the man. How could he look so remorseless? It seemed like Vala's death was nothing to him.

Or maybe something Amotis had long since dealt with, he thought to himself as he continued to the morgue. He hesitated outside the doorway, steeling himself for the sight of Vala's lifeless body. He leaned his head against the doorway, fighting against the memories of all the other faces he had seen the light go out of. He closed his eyes as Sha're's pallor face in this same very room came to mind.

He couldn't seem to shake the memory of Sha're lying there, knowing that he would never see her smile or laugh ever again. He started wondering why at a time like this Sha're would be the one to come to mind, the memories of saying goodbye to the woman he loved nagging at him as if he was about to step through that door and find her lying there once more. He shook his head at his inner musings, knowing that if he was completely honest with himself he would know exactly why this felt the same as losing Sha're.

"Too late for that now," he thought aloud as he opened the door slowly. He stood there in the doorway, unsure how long, just staring at the site before him.

She was laid atop one of the steel tables, a metal tray with tools and a glass of water to her side. The sheet was pulled up to her shoulders, but he could see that someone had changed her into a pair of blue scrubs, no doubt out of respect. He always loved the way the color of the scrubs played with the color of her eyes, making them seem more blue than grey. Her eyes were closed now, and though she was pale and bruised, she didn't look like she was gone. He found himself searching for some sign of life in her, thinking Dr. Lam must somehow be mistaken. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully.

He shook himself mentally from his denial and closed the door. There was already a chair in place at her side, most likely from where Amotis had come to say his goodbyes. With weak knees, he walked over to the table, pulling the sheet down to reveal her hands, which were folded over her stomach. He took one of them in his, feeling the cold touch of death on her as he did. He collapsed into the chair, the anguish of the reality crushing him as he pressed his face to her hand, the tears flowing freely as he began to beg her corpse for forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry....I should have been there." He stopped himself, knowing there was more to it than that. "I never should have let you go back there," he corrected himself. "I should have listened to you in the beginning. I never should have let you go back there after what they did to you."

"My dear Daniel," a hoarse voice whispered, "I think you'll find there is very little in this world you can stop me from doing, going back to that planet being at the top of a very long list of things you can't."

Daniel started to shake his head and argue when he realized that he would once again be arguing with his subconscious. He kissed her hand, then straightened into sitting position. When he forced himself to look into her pale face once more to say goodbye, he found her round grey eyes staring at him in wonder.

"You're crying," she croaked.

Without thinking, he flew across the room, his body as close to the wall as it could be without becoming one with it. "You're dead," he responded after a moment.

Vala looked down at her body, seeming to take stock of everything. She made to sit up, but her eyes widened in response to the pain. "No, definitely in far too much pain to be dead, darling."

"I've really done it," he muttered to himself as he watched her with disbelief, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. "I've lost my mind." He tilted his head in contemplation, then gave a small shrug. "I'm surprisingly comfortable with that."

"You haven't lost your mind, Daniel, and I am not dead." She looked down at her pain stricken body once more and frowned. "Not at the moment anyway. Though I do think a medical team might be most prudent at the moment."

He nodded slowly, then used the phone at the desk near him to call for a medical team. "Yes, to the morgue," he repeated with frustration. "Thank you." He turned back to Vala. "They're on their way."

She reached her hand out to him. "I promise you, I'm not dead."

As if in a daze, he took his place back at her side and intertwined his fingers with hers. He noticed that she felt warmer and looked up at her in shock. "How...."

"Amotis, I think." Her brows pulled down as she tried to dredge up the memories of what had occurred. "He came to me one night, acting as though he was trying to confront the beast who stole his fiancé from him. I'm not sure what happened…it's all very confusing. My mind was playing some very vivid tricks on me throughout the whole ordeal, so I'm still not sure what's real and what's not." She shook her head slightly, trying to gather her thoughts. Anyway, I was knocked out not long after his little visit and then I just woke up here. To your crying." Her eyes showed concern for him. "Are you alright? What's happened?"

He laughed despite the tears that were still coming as he started to allow himself to believe she was really alive. "You idiot, I thought you were dead."

"And this brought you to tears?" she asked, puzzled.

"Yes! Of course it did." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and then moved in closer to place his hand on her smiling face. "Glad to know my pain can bring you such amusement."

Vala leaned what she was assuming was her good cheek into his hand, shaking her head. "Not amusement. It's just...good to know, that's all."

He continued to marvel at her, unable to fully comprehend the situation. Hell, if he was losing his mind, at least he was in a happy place. He used his thumb to wipe away a tear that had slipped from her eye, letting himself bask in the moment they were currently sharing.

The moment ended as Dr. Lam burst in, Samantha close at her heels. Carolyn came to an abrupt stop as she could see Vala was very much alive.

"Daniel," Sam asked as she rushed in. "Are you okay? I heard the call for the medical--" she stopped and her eyes widened as Vala brought up her free hand to give a small wave. "Ohmygod...." She looked back to Daniel. "What did you do?"

Vala scoffed at this. "Is it so hard to believe that I came back from death of my own talents and that it had absolutely nothing to do with anyone else?" She bit her lip, then winced at the pain of it. She then began to sit up, looking to Daniel for the help he was ready to give. "Alright, admittedly I did have a _little_ help from Amotis. Where is that little weasel anyway?"

"You're not dead!" Sam exclaimed as she threw her arms around her friend.

Vala couldn't help but cry out in pain. "No, but I am still quite battered it seems."

She pulled away apologetically, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm just so glad to have you back."

Vala tried to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes again as she looked around at her friends in the room. "It's good to be back."


	43. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty Two**

Daniel was practically bouncing in the chair he had been forced to root himself in for this god forsaken briefing. Vala was in the infirmary, under the care of Dr. Lam, who was quite concerned about her injuries now that she wasn't dead. Meanwhile, SG1 was stuck with the task of trying to find out as much as possible about how Amotis had managed to fake her death.

"So what convinced you?" Cam asked, unable to resist his curiosity. "I mean, even when we talked to you, you were still sort of on the fence."

"The Lucian Alliance convinced me of the error of our ways. Vala was right," he explained with remorse. "We allowed them to manipulate us using one of the most tragic times of our people's history. It was after you escaped that I saw them for who they are. They threatened to kill the council if we did not get you back. They reminded us that they had helped us to trap one of our most hated enemies. Vala."

"That convinced you?" Sam asked with confusion.

He turned his head to meet her gaze. "They called her Vala, not Qetesh. When I corrected them, they said it didn't matter who she was. I knew then that they believed her to be Vala, an innocent victim they were using to lure SG1 to their deaths. I was still torn, but upon speaking to Vala again, I knew the demon was no longer within her."

"How?" Daniel couldn't help but ask.

He forced a smile. "She asked that her body be taken home, back to the Tau'ri. And that I relay her apologies for any pain she might have caused her friends here. That was the Vala I knew. Home was always so important to her, as her father's career choice had not afforded her the luxury of having one for so long."

"Yea, that Jacek's a real doll," Cam added grimly. "So how'd you do it? I mean, you guys aren't that technologically advanced, but you managed to even fool our medical gadgets."

"There is an herb that is rumored to bring about the deepest possible slumber one can endure. We call it quietus nex," Amotis explained.

"Sleeping death," Daniel interpreted automatically. "Why didn't you just tell us?"

The man let out a deep breath. "I was uncertain as to whether or not it would work. The only way to be sure was to give her the antidote."

"So you weren't sure this was going to work, but you decided to give it to her anyway?" Cam asked incredulously.

He nodded somberly. "I believed that if it did not work, it would grant her a merciful death. I knew that I would not be able to convince my people that they were wrong. The Lucian Alliance had twisted their minds with vengeance. Especially Gregar," he added to himself. "And I feared I would not be able to mount a rescue on my own. But I knew I must act."

"Well, we're glad you did," Daniel said with deep appreciation. "You saved her life. We owe you."

Amotis dropped his head in shame. "I was the one that ordered Vala's execution when she was first returned to us. I was too blinded by my own rage to see the truth. You owe me nothing."

"Still," General Landry interjected, "the Lucian Alliance isn't going to go away so quietly. Which means your people are going to need our help." He lifted a salt and pepper brow as Chief Master Sergeant Harriman came into view.

"Sir," Walter began hesitantly. "Dr. Lam is paging SG1 to the infirmary. She says it is an emergency."

Landry gave a jerk of his head to the team members, barely getting out the word "Dismissed," before Daniel was already out the door.

He could hear the echo of his teammates' boots thudding against the floor behind him and had to force himself to hold the elevator for them to join him. The ride to the infirmary felt like an eternity before the doors finally slid open and he began to run again. He pushed past the few SF's right inside the doorway, confused by their aggressive stance as they held their zats out.

"What's going on?" he asked as he took in the scene before him.

Vala was crouched down in the far corner of the room, her bed thrown onto its side near her. One arm was clutching her chest while the other was swinging the firearm she held around wildly, warning everyone in between her sobs to stay away from her.

"Would you guys put your guns down!" Sam ordered to the SF's nearby. "Now!"

The men slowly obeyed, lowering their weapons to their side as Sam rushed to the unconscious Dr. Lam's side. "What happened here?"

"We're not sure, ma'am," one of the airmen answered. "We heard a disturbance. When we came to investigate, we found that the SF on duty had been knocked unconscious as well as Dr. Lam. Miss Mal Doran had retrieved the firearm and was threatening us with it."

"Vala," Daniel approached her slowly, his hands in the air. "I need you to give me the gun, okay?"

"No!" she shouted back, tears staining her cheeks. "Stay away from me!"

He crouched down a few feet away from her. "What's wrong?"

She let out a wild laugh. "What's wrong? You people are killing me, that's what! Don't act like I don't know who you are!"

"We aren't killing you, we're trying to help you," he eased.

"It's no use," Dr. Lam spoke up weakly as she tried to sit up, grabbing her head. "She's delusional. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe after all she's been through, something here triggered some kind of psychotic break."

Vala's wild laugh filled the room once more. "She's right, you know. I am delusional. Which is why I know you aren't real. I won't believe it, not this time."

"What do you mean, this time?" he asked, trying to inch his way forward.

She aimed the gun straight at him. "You made me think they had come for me before. But I won't give you that satisfaction again. Now if you don't free me, I will kill you. And believe me, Gregar, I will not hesitate this time."

Daniel frowned. "She thinks she's still back there," he explained to whoever was listening. "Vala, I'm not Gregar. I'm Daniel."

"Stop it!" she begged with a sob, squeezing her eyes shut as she grasped her head. "This isn't real." Her eyes popped open. "It's Adria. She's making me see this again. Adria! Make it stop! Adria!"

Sam's heart broke as Vala cried out for her deceased daughter. "My god, what did they do to you?" she asked as she knelt next to Daniel.

"Not them," Daniel corrected as his eyes took in Vala's bloodied hand from where she had ripped her IV out. "Dr. Lam, did you give her anything?"

"A sedative, yes," the doctor responded as she approached, taking a step back as Vala aimed the gun at her. "And some pain killers in case she woke up. The naquadah in her blood makes her more resistant to sedatives, as we learned with Sam."

He turned back to Amotis, who was hanging back. "When I passed you in the hallway, you had just given her the antidote, hadn't you?" He paused as the man nodded, then turned back to the doctor preparing to launch into a series of questions. "Amotis gave her something to fake her death, something that slowed her systems down enough to fool our monitors. He gave her the antidote earlier. The drugs that were already in her system must be reacting poorly to being mixed with the ones we gave her."

Dr. Lam mulled this over for a moment before agreeing. "If that's the case, we have no idea what it's doing to her system. Dr. Jackson, we have to get her back on the table, even if it means zatting her. Not only could she be bleeding internally from her injuries, but her organs could be shutting down if the combination of these drugs is too volatile."

He nodded, but held his hand up to ask them to give him a moment. He could see the SF's poised and ready to fire if ordered. "Vala? Vala!" he blanched as her crazed and confused eyes snapped to his. "I need you to listen to me. The drugs in your system are confusing you and possibly even hurting you. I know you don't believe this, but we are real. Do you remember waking up? Can you remember that for me?"

Her eyes danced around the air in front of her, her brows furrowed in confusion as she tried to find the answer. "In the morgue. I was in the morgue."

"Yes," Daniel urged. "I was there, do you remember that?"

A slight smile danced on her lips. "I scared you. You thought I was a hallucination."

"Just like you think I am now," he affirmed. "But you weren't a hallucination. You were real." He dared to scoot forward slightly. "And so am I."

She shook her head. "No…no. Amotis, he poisoned me. I'm dying."

"Not on my watch," he whispered as he held his hand out for her.

Her eyes cut up to him as she lipped the words back to him, the same words she had spoken when she had sacrificed her life for his. "Daniel? This is real?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but noticed that her head had snapped to the empty space next to her.

"Yes, Mother," Adria whispered as she gently stroked her mother's face. "This is real. You're home now. Let them take care of you."

Vala nodded to the empty space beside her, lowering the gun to her side before releasing her grip on it. She turned her fearful eyes back to Daniel, taking the hand he was still offering. "Please be real," she begged as she allowed him to wrap his arms around her and lift her from the ground.

Daniel held her hand in his as Dr. Lam began barking out orders and hooking an IV up to her other hand. She gently released his grip from her injured hand with promises of cleaning up the wound. Daniel moved out of the way, standing on the far side of the room with his teammates and Jack, who had appeared sometime in the middle of Vala's breakdown. Her gaze never left her friends as the medical team bustled about, her grey eyes silently begging for them to stay and holding all of the fear that they would soon disappear.

After what felt like ages, Dr. Lam approached SG1. "We're flushing the chemicals out of her system, which unfortunately means the pain killers too. Pretty soon, she's going to start feeling everything they did to her." Her brown eyes narrowed as the turned to Amotis, still standing in the background with a worried expression upon his face, before turning sympathetically back Vala's teammates. "Point is, it's about to get real ugly for her. I can't risk giving her anything for the pain or to sedate her until her blood work is completely clean. You might not want to hang around for this." The look on each of their faces, even Jack's, told her that they had no intention of leaving their teammate's side. "Alright, but she's going to be in a lot of pain, so don't overwhelm her."

"Can't you just zat me until this is all over with?" a husky voice called from across the room.

Sam's face lit up as she went to her friend's bedside. "Vala! Welcome back."

"Thank you," she replied weakly before flinching. "Now I ask again, can someone please zat me before all of these unpleasant sensations return?"

Daniel couldn't help but grin, seeing that Vala was now back to her usual self. "You're hooked up to a lot of equipment right now, Vala. I'm thinking causing the machines to overload and electrocute you is not the best plan."

"Yea," Cam agreed. "Especially seeing as how last time that happened you stole my pants."

The team laughed at this, though Jack sent Mitchell a puzzled look. "Carter, why have I not heard this before?" he waved off the explanation that was about to come. "Never mind, I'll wait until Vala can tell it. Welcome back, by the way. Knew you'd be okay, didn't doubt it at all," he lied. "You're like a cat. Nine lives and all that."

"Yes, yes," Vala cut him off, "and I must have at least a dozen or so left. I know." She closed her eyes, breathing in deep and not noticing the questioning looks that Sam and Jack were exchanging. "Hmmm…Carolyn, did you give me drugs? I'm feeling quite tired."

"Not yet," Dr. Lam answered as she checked Vala's vitals. "But you have been through quite an ordeal. Maybe your body is trying to tell you something." She turned back to the rest of the team. "Why don't you guys let her get some rest?" She rolled her eyes at Daniel's questioning brows. "Fine, only one of you can stay at a time. And I get the feeling you won't need to decide who goes first."

Daniel gave a nod of appreciation to his teammates as they each bid Vala goodnight and filed out, then grabbed a chair and took his place by her bedside.

"Daniel?"

"Yes?" he responded, leaning forward as he took her bandaged hand in his.

"Thank you. For staying with me."

His eyes sparkled as she looked into them. "Always," he promised, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as he watched sleep take her over.


	44. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty Three**

"Knock, knock," Cam's southern drawl sounded from her already opened door. "Your chariot has arrived, doll."

Vala looked up to find Cam pushing a wheel chair into her room and frowned at him. "What's that for?"

"It's a wheel chair," he responded incredulously. "Come on, I know you've seen one of these before. It's to help you get around."

"Oh, I know what it is," Vala admitted as she grabbed a hold of the crutches next to her bed and lifted herself off of the mattress with a grunt. Sam had been using the goa'uld healing device on her, but her leg was broken in several places and she was still skeptic of her abilities, fearful she would cause the bones to grow back the wrong way. Vala was willing to take the risk if it meant getting that cast off of her leg and getting people to stop babying her like Cam was currently doing. "I simply asked what you brought it for as I clearly already have a viable means of getting around."

"Viable and slow," Mitchell muttered. "Come on, hop on! I'll get you to Landry in a jiffy and I'll even make it fun." He rolled the wheelchair into the corner of her room as she began to stubbornly make her way across the room on her crutches. "You're almost as bad as Teal'c when it comes to this stuff."

"Well, not to worry," Vala grunted as she made her way down the hall, the click of the crutches echoing in her path, "as soon as Sam fixes my leg up, I'll be back to active duty."

"I thought Sam said she couldn't fix your leg?"

She gave him a bright and mischievous grin at this. "Nothing a little liquid courage can't fix."

"Who are you talking about getting drunk?" Sheppard asked as he held the elevator for them.

"Perhaps you if you play your cards right," Vala retorted with a wink before blocking Mitchell's path with her crutch. "You can catch the next lift up, darling."

Mitchell looked back and forth between the two of them before lifting his hands in surrender and visibly backing off. He crossed his arms over his chest, smiling with amusement as the elevator doors slid closed.

"Glad to see you mobile again," Sheppard smiled at his elevator companion. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged perkily. "Much better. And if I can convince Samantha to fix my leg, I'll be better enough to complete our date."

He crossed his arms over his chest as he examined the woman before him that only a few days ago had nearly lost her life. "I was under the impression that you didn't want it to be a date."

She tilted her head to the side, a broad smile across her face. "Perhaps I've changed my mind."

He held the door open long enough for her to get out before following. "I dunno, Vala. I've kinda gotten the impression from other people that there might be something going on with you and someone else."

"If that someone happens to be an archeologist shaped man that I just happen to be close friends with and also work with, I might stress, I'm afraid you were misled." She stopped, turning to face him as she leaned on her crutches. "There's nothing going on between Daniel and I. Maybe at one time there could have been…but…" she bit her lip, unsure of how far to go with this before an idea came to her mind. "I'm sure you can understand what it's like when you come to a point where you can't wait for something that you might want to happen to actually happen. Where you realize it's time to move on."

Sheppard merely nodded, thinking it a bit eerie that someone with so few interactions with him and his team could see through him that easily. "I might know what you're talking about. That obvious?" he asked with a bit of incredulity.

Her smile widened. "Only to someone who knows exactly what it's like. But that's sort of my point. What I went through…it sort of opened my eyes. Life really is too short, you know?"

He nodded again, still shocked that the usually lighthearted and dodgy Vala was being so open with him. "I agree, but I'm still not sure I know where you're going with this."

She placed a hand on his arm. "Well, perhaps we can help each other. Move on. I like you and I think you like me. And I _know_ we'd have incredible sex, so why not?"

"Well," he held out his hands in a somewhat supplicating gesture. "I've never refused to help a lady in need before…and I definitely can't argue about the sex," he added with a smirk. "So yea. I think maybe we can help each other. If you're sure this is what you want."

"It is," she assured him before leaning in to brush her lips lightly against his cheek. "Care to escort me to General Landry?"

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them caused them both to see Daniel standing a few feet away with a wheel chair in front of him. "Yea," he began awkwardly, not at all wanting to address what he had just seen or the sudden pit he felt in his chest after seeing it. "General Landry is getting pretty impatient. He said that he's ordering you to use a wheel chair."

Vala gave a mock salute, handing her crutches over to John before allowing him to help her into the wheelchair. "We'll finish our little chat later then, darling?"

Sheppard gave her a sideways grin as he nodded. "I'll come find you before I head back to Atlantis. How's that sound?"

"Perfect," she said as she matched his grin. "Alright, Daniel, on with business. I've got a General to convince to let me back on active duty, after all. If his temporary restrictions due to my mental status are still in place, that is."

"I'm actually not sure," he admitted with a frown as he pushed her down the hallway and through the Control Room. "So…Colonel Sheppard, huh?"

"Oh, don't sound so disapproving, darling. Someone on this prude planet of yours was bound to realize just how unbearably attractive and charming I am." She paused, fiddling with the stray thread coming from the arms of the wheelchair. "Besides, it only makes sense that it would be someone from the Stargate program. I'm hardly ever allowed off base, and even if I were, it just wouldn't work. I'd have to constantly act like someone I'm not, like I belong here." Her face flushed when she realized how much she had just rambled on about. "Though I do supposed if Amotis groveled enough I might look back his attempts on my life and take the little weasel back," she quipped.

Daniel brought the wheelchair to a stop just outside the door to the briefing room, walking around to kneel down in front of her. "You do belong here, Vala. Never doubt that."

She shrugged slightly. "They wouldn't even let you look for me, Daniel. To the people who make the decisions as to how much of a normal life I can attempt here on Earth, I'll always be an alien. And when the time comes for me to leave the Stargate program, I'm not even sure they'll let me leave."

He balked at the idea of her leaving the Stargate program, the thought of her leaving of her own accord never truly occurring to him. He recovered quickly. "They let Teal'c. And the only reason your off base allowances are so limited is because of the Trust, it has nothing to do with you. Once they're taken care of, I'm sure things will change."

"Sure. I'm sure you're right," she replied, her eyes filled with doubt. "Well, we should probably get to General Landry before his glare burns a hole in the back of your head." She gestured with her chin to the leader of Stargate Command, who was staring at them with impatience.

He patted her knee before lifting himself to his feet and guiding her fully into the room, sliding her wheelchair into the empty place beside the General before greeting the leader of the base with a nod, somewhat apologetic.

Landry simply waved the archeologist off, knowing full well that he would be hovering outside of the door. The man had made no qualms about letting him know just how much he disagreed with this plan, but Landry felt that he knew what he was doing. He turned back to the woman at his side, who was fiddling nervously with her hands.

"I'm guessing by the look on your face that you aren't going to clear me for active duty," she voiced quietly.

A deep frown settled into his features. "Vala, your leg is broken. You won't be cleared for active duty until it is fully healed."

Her face lit up. "But after it's healed then I will? No more Dr. Hutchison?"

He hesitated. "I still think it's best that you see Dr. Hutchison, but I think maybe that should be your choice. You've been through a great ordeal, and maybe talking about it will do you some good. Help you to heal."

Vala pressed her lips into a small smile, touched as usual when the General went all fatherly on her, concerned for her well being. "Thank you, General. I will truly take that into consideration."

"Your ordeal is one of the reasons I've asked you here." He folded his hands before him and leaned forward slightly. "I know you've heard by now that the IOA pulled the plug on our search and rescue missions. I want you to know that their decisions in no way reflect the way this command thinks of its people or you in particular. In fact, we plan on taking immediate action against the Kasinans for what they've done to you. Those responsible will be brought to justice," he assured her.

She shook her head jerkily. "Are you saying…that you plan on going to war with them? Because of me?"

"No, I'm saying that we plan to hunt down those responsible and bring them back here to stand trial. That simple."

"It's far from simple, General. With all due respect, sir, have you people not learned anything about the people of Kasina? If they feel threatened in any way, they will fight back and they will fight hard. It will be war."

"We're prepared for that possibility, Miss Mal Doran," he stressed, his eyebrows raised with threat. "We don't take very lightly to our people being captured and tortured, nearly killed. They were warned, and now they will see that the Tau'ri mean business."

Her brows furrowed as she stared at the table. "No."

"I beg your pardon?"

She looked up into his eyes with determination. "No. You will not cause any harm to my people."

He laughed darkly. "Your people? Vala! They've nearly killed you three times now! Do you think they honestly care what happens to you?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. I know they don't. Especially Gregar." She licked her lips as her gaze shifted downward once more. "He knew the whole time that I wasn't Qetesh. He told me." Her grey eyes flashed back up to meet the General's. "But that doesn't change the fact that he is one of my people. One of my people that suffered greatly at Qetesh's hand. Can't you see? They've already suffered enough because of me. Please don't let anymore of their blood be on my hands, General. Please. Give them the one thing Qetesh never did. Mercy."

"Spoken with true spirit and wisdom, just like your mother," a soft voice called from the doorway.

Vala's eyes widened as she looked up to see the council woman from Kasina, flanked by Gregar and Amotis, enter the briefing room. She immediately jumped to her feet, putting as much distance between herself and Gregar as possible. The wheelchair toppled over, and she almost tripped on it, stumbling backwards until Mitchell finally caught and steadied her.

"Easy there, princess. I've got ya." He lowered his head to level his gaze with hers, trying to convey the deeper meaning of those words.

She shook her head fervently. "Please, Cam, don't send me back! Please!"

Daniel's gentle hand touched her arm, causing her to turn her attention to him before launching herself into his arms. "It's okay, we're not going to let them hurt you," he murmured into her hair.

"If you have not called us here to return the demon, then why have you asked us here?" Gregar's venomous voice cut through the silence.

Daniel tightened his embrace as Vala visibly cowered, clearly terrified of this man and what he had done to her. It was taking all of his resolve to not launch himself at the man. A glance to Mitchell's balled up fists told him that he was not alone in this sentiment.

The council woman crossed the room, stopping a few feet away from Vala, who was shivering in Daniel's arms as she surveyed the room and tried to figure out how to make her escape with one leg not working correctly. A puzzled frown came across her face as the woman held out her hands pleadingly.

"My name is Lyntia," she said. "Do you remember me?"

Vala gave a shaky nod. "You're a member of the council in Kasina. You ordered my trial."

Lyntia narrowed her eyes. "You confessed, my dear. But I ask if you remember that I was friends with your mother."

She eyed the woman skeptically. "No."

She laughed sweetly. "Well, I must admit that I was a little less grey and far rounder at that time. But yes, Adria was a dear friend of mine."

"Adria?" Mitchell repeated before being waved off by Daniel.

Vala straightened a bit, though still clinging to Daniel for physical support. "Why are you here?"

Amotis joined Lyntia and they both knelt before Vala. "We come here to beg your forgiveness and offer you a place back in our home."

"What?" an outraged Gregar stormed past both of them, fast approaching Vala.

Her grip visibly tightened and Daniel had already lifted her off of her feet, pulling her away from the man. Cam intercepted the Kasinan, clamping his hand around his neck as he forced him into the wall opposite of Vala. "You're on our territory now, bub, and you will not even _think_ of laying a hand on her again. I see the thought flicker through your eyes and you're in for a world of hurt. You got me?"

"Colonel Mitchell," the General half heartedly called the CO of SG1 down. "Release the prisoner."

"Prisoner?" Gregar asked with disbelief. "You invite us here and take us captive?"

"Yea," Mitchell responded as he straightened the man's shirt. "Funny how the roles reverse, ain't it?"

"Not us, Gregar," Lyntia corrected as she rose to her feet. "Only you. We know of the pay off you received from the Lucian Alliance to lure Vala and SG1 back to the planet. You were aware all along of her true identity."

"The Kasinans will have their justice," he promised darkly. "Once they see that she lives still, that she has risen from the dead once more, they will not stop until her head rests upon the walls of the Hall of Justice."

Lyntia shook her head sadly. "The people of Kasina know the truth. They know now that the demon was defeated long ago, just as our Tau'ri friends tried to tell us. And they know that we have brought you here so that you may be punished for your crimes against the Tau'ri, against the people of Kasina, and against Vala. It is your head that will be resting on the walls of their hall of justice, Gregar."

"No," Vala croaked, swallowing hard and chiding herself for the fear this man was able to flood through her veins. She eased herself away from Daniel, forcing herself to stand on her own two feet regardless of the pain spiking through her leg at the weight. "Let him go."

Amotis shook his head. "Vala, you know our laws. If broken, the punishment is death. If you return him to us, we will carry out his sentence."

She turned to General Landry. "Then send him somewhere else. Let him pick a gate address and go there."

"Vala," Cam turned to her slowly. "This man wants you dead. Not Qetesh—_you._ We can't risk running into him somewhere else when we go on another mission."

"Then I quit." She shrugged, turning back to the general. "He wasn't always like this. There was a time when I thought of him as more of a father than I ever did Jacek. What he is now isn't his fault. Qetesh ruined him. Killed everything he loved." She turned sorrowful eyes back to the man who had just days ago been willing to slowly beat the life out of her. "I know how hard it is to come back from that."

General Landry looked to both Mitchell and Dr. Jackson for any objections, but both of the men had set their jaws, refusing to argue with Vala. It seemed that at the very least, she deserved for this to be her call. "Very well," he sighed. This was not how he was expecting this meeting to go. "Colonel Mitchell, escort our guest to the Control Room while he thinks of a place to go."

Gregar shrugged off Cameron's touch, choosing to throw one last threatening glare to Vala before allowing himself to be removed from the room.

Vala squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to feel the pain and guilt of another ruined life because of her. She felt Daniel's gentle hand on her elbow and gave him a nod to let him know she was okay. "Lyntia, Amotis, I appreciate what you've done for me. I know what you risked in saving me. As for your offer to return home…"

Daniel actually felt himself holding his breath for her answer, her having placed the thought in his head that she might want to leave someday.

"I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request," she answered as she mustered up a small smile. "I am truly sorry for everything that Qetesh did…but I just don't think I could ever feel at home there again."

Lyntia approached tentatively, then took Vala's hand into her own. "I understand, child. I only hope you will afford those of us who have missed you so greatly the opportunity to come see you from time to time."

All she could do was nod and throw a weak smile to Amotis. "Of course. General Landry will let you know how to be in touch." She turned back to the general. "I assume we are still planning on assisting them with this little Lucian Alliance problem?"

Landry nodded, gesturing for the Kasinans to follow him into his office.

Vala was still rooted to the same spot, trying to school the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her at any moment.

"We should probably get you back to your room. Let you get some rest," Daniel suggested.

Vala turned to the wheelchair, then cocked her head as she took in toppled over chair. "Did I do that?"

Daniel pressed his lips together with a sigh as he bent over to straighten it. "Well, you were in a hurry to get away from them."

"Yes," her face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"It's understandable," he soothed as he wheeled the chair over to her. "Where to?"

Her lips pulled into a smile. "I kind of like you being at my beck and call, Daniel. A girl could get used to this."

He couldn't help but return her smile. "Which reminds me, why don't we go see Sam and ask her again about that leg?"

She faked a pout as she allowed him to help her into the wheel chair. "But what happened to the servitude? The nursing me back to health?"

He nodded. "To Sam," he reaffirmed as he began to push her in the direction of the elevators.


	45. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Daniel and Vala were unable to find Sam in her lab, so Daniel wheeled her back to her room, reluctantly agreeing to stay and watch a movie with her. He realized now what a bad plan this was. It was a horrible movie, something about some high powered executive and the tree hugging environmentalist he had conned into being his secretary or something. The problem with this scenario wasn't the movie though. It was the raven haired woman whose breath he could feel dancing across his neck. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Vala had fallen asleep, her head leaning against his shoulder.

He slowly eased his arm around her, allowing her to settle onto his chest, her arm draped across his abdomen. He continued to stroke her hair, wincing as the moved locks revealed the bruises on her upper back and neck. "Sam must've missed those," he said out loud, making a note to remind her of them tomorrow. He wanted any traces of the pain those people had inflicted on her removed.

Part of him wished that he had played host to goa'uld or Tok'ra so that he could do it for her. Sitting here, stroking her hair and feeling the warmth of her body in his arms, he wasn't sure there was anything he wouldn't do for her. Even if it meant he had to watch as she fell in love with someone else. He just wanted to make sure that she was happy here, that she knew this was home.

At the sound of a whimper escaping her lips he squeezed her tighter, whispering words of comfort. He wasn't sure there was a limit on what he was willing to do for her now that she had been safely returned home, but he knew for certain that there was one thing he was never going to do again—

Let her go.


End file.
